A Stupid Mistake
by carrotsharkbooks
Summary: Jace and Clary have been best friends for seven years, and roommates for four and a half. When Jace makes a stupid mistake at work, he turns to Clary, who reluctantly agrees to help him. AU, all human.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi Everyone,**

 **This story will mainly be Clace, some Malec and Sizzy. Slow updates. This is my first fanfic so I hope you guys like it. Unfortunately, I am not Cassandra Clare, so I do not own any of her fabulous characters. The plot's all mine though.**

Chapter one.

"Shit!" The loud exclamation resounded throughout the apartment, startling the young woman who had been sitting in her art studio while her roommate had been out of the house. The abrupt end to the silence that had consumed her for well over an hour had made her jump and she almost knocked her paints over in the process. She carefully set them, and her paintbrush down for a moment while she re-tied her hair. A few strands of flaming red curls had escaped their hold and had been annoying her while she worked, yet she was too focused to stop what she was doing to fix them. Once she had finished, she grabbed her paintbrush once again, about to pick up where she had left off when the door slammed, shaking the walls of the apartment. Clary poked her head out into the hallway, seeing the back of Jace's golden haired head retreating to the kitchen. Sighing, she put her paintbrush down and went to join him.

Jace Herondale was business man, a lawyer, and a damn good one at that. He was usually very put-together, a crisp suit and tie every day. Clary should know, they had lived together for four and a half years. Everyday his attire was the same, which is why she was nearly stunned when she saw him sitting at the island in the kitchen, the first two buttons of his shirt undone, his tie hanging at the collar of his shirt, and his hair looking as though his fingers had run through it several times. "What the hell happened to you?"

"I did something stupid, Clary. Something so, so stupid." His face was strained, and one of his hands came up to run through his hair again, a nervous tick that Clary knew he had.

"Okay, well that isn't so bad. You do that daily." Clary teased, and for a moment Jace looked like he was going to laugh, until the spark in his eyes deflated and his face turned back to the way it had been from the mere glimpse she caught of it before he hid his face in his hands, elbows resting on the countertop. "Well, I'm obviously not helping." She paused, waiting for him to chime in as he usually did. "You know, the only way I'm going to be able to help you is if you tell me what is going on." Her voice coaxed Jace to remove his hands from his face and look up at her.

"It's so stupid, Clary." She rolled her eyes, annoyed.

"Yes, I got that part. I was looking for something more along the lines of what you did that was so stupid."

He sighed, and for a moment she was worried that he wasn't going to talk, which would be a first. They had known each other since senior year of high school, about seven years in all, and she had never heard him shut up. Even when she was brand new to the area, he talked to her like they had known each other for years instead of minutes. "You're not going to like it." He finally said, making her release a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Try me." Clary watched as he took a deep breath and shook his head.

"The guys at work were bugging me about my love life again." Jace carefully avoided Clary's gaze as he spoke, instead choosing to stare at the counter. "It all started out as the usual; pestering me about getting a girlfriend, like we were all back in high school. Then, they started asking if I was going to bring a date to the corporate Christmas party. Apparently, it's 'the' event of the year, lots of media coverage and the works." He finally brought his eyes up to Clary's to see if she was still paying attention. Her green eyes met his golden gaze evenly, and he continued. "I was so fed up with their incessant nagging that eventually, I exploded." He watched as Clary's eyes widened slightly.

"What did you do?" She asked, warily.

"I told them I had a girlfriend. Stupid. So, so stupid." Jace looked so torn up over this, Clary almost felt bad for laughing. Almost.

"That's…that's all?" She asked between giggles. "That's what you're so worked up about?" Jace was watching her with an unimpressed look, clearly waiting for her to finish.

"Yes, that's all. It's not as simple as it sounds." Clary tried and failed to stifle another giggle. Exasperated, Jace put his head in his hands once again.

"Jace, that's not bad. If anything, that's one of the better things you could have said. At least you didn't say something that got you fired."

"Clary, they all think I'm lying. I told them I've been together with this girl for a year, half as long as I've been working in the same place. You'd think that maybe once, I'd have let them know about my unavailability. No pictures, no nothing. It's like the girl hasn't existed, which, she hasn't, but, oh never mind." Jace all but slammed his head back onto the counter and didn't look up until he felt Clary's hand on his shoulder.

"Jace, if you think about it, that makes it even better. You don't have any pictures for them to go by, and it's not like you need a date by tonight, right? Isn't the Christmas thing around, you know, Christmas time?"

"Well… yeah, it is." The tone of Jace's voice caught Clary's attention. He was hiding something, she was sure of it.

"Do you want me to play along like I have no idea you aren't saying something, or would you like to just tell me?" Clary snapped, causing Jace to whip his head up, staring at her as if she had two heads. He eyed her cautiously as she stood there with her arms crossed, not backing down. If living with her for over four years had taught him one thing, it was that she was stubborn. He sighed, knowing he would eventually have to tell her, what with them living together and all.

"A few of my coworkers and I made plans a while back to get dinner together after we finished this project we've been working on for a few months. We finished the other day, and dinner plans were made for tomorrow night." Jace watched as Clary's eyes widened.

"You're not going to say what I think you're going to say, right?"

"If you thought I was going to say that now they made it a 'bring your significant other to dinner' night, then yes."

"Significant other?" Clary asked.

"Well yeah, Alec works with me, remember?" Jace's brother, Alec, was gay. He and his boyfriend Magnus have been together for almost as long as Clary had known them.

"Right. So, you need a date by tomorrow night." Jace nodded slowly, expecting her to come to the conclusion on her own. "That shouldn't be hard, just go out on the street shirtless, holding a sign that says 'Dinner date wanted.' That should get you a few takers." Clary giggled again as Jace continued giving her that expectant look. She gave him a weird look until the puzzle pieces began to connect, and her eyes narrowed as she looked at him once again.

"No. No way, absolutely not." His reaction was almost instantaneous.

"Please, Clary. I need you to do this for me, just this once, then I promise it'll be all over. After the Christmas thing, of course." Jace pleaded with her, but her gaze didn't soften.

"No way, it'll be too weird. Besides, Alec knows me, won't he be more than a little suspicious if you bring me as your supposed 'girlfriend'?"

"I'll talk to him about it before, so he'll know not to say anything. Please Clary. I'll do anything at this point." She eyed him warily, and he could tell the moment she had conceded to his whining.

"Fine. I'll do it. But, you have to buy my coffee for a week."

"Done." Jace had a huge smile on his face.

"I wasn't finished. I'm assuming that the Christmas event is going to be formal attire, right?" She paused until he nodded. "Then I'm going to need to buy a new dress. You have to go shopping with me." After a moment, she added "And Izzy."

Jace almost groaned at her request. Shopping with Clary was one thing, but dragging his sister, Isabelle, along? That would take all day. Still, he was asking her to be his fake girlfriend for more than one night, so he supposed that was fair.

"You've got yourself a deal, Fray." He stuck out his hand, and she shook it, both still unsure of exactly what was going to happen over these next couple of months.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two.

"He asked you to do what?" Izzy all but screeched on the other line. Clary fought the urge to yank her phone away from her ear.

"Ouch, Iz. Try and keep it down, will you? I'd like to keep my eardrums intact."

"Sorry, sorry. I just can't believe that my idiot brother would ask you to do something like that." Isabelle Lightwood was Jace's sister, and one of Clary's close friends. Around 2 o'clock, with Jace gone until the dinner tonight, Clary had been bored out of her mind called Izzy.

"I know, believe me, I was as shocked as you are. I got him to get me coffee for a week, and he also has to go dress shopping with us for the Christmas party." Clary was currently sitting in her favorite spot in the apartment; a window bench in her studio. The thing that made it so special was the fantastic view of Central Park it held. The bright patch of green among rows and rows of industrialized buildings was often a focal point for some of Clary's paintings.

"You got him to agree to go dress shopping? He must be really desperate." Clary could practically hear Izzy's smirk through the phone. She heard a muffled "who must be desperate" from somewhere in the background.

"Is that Simon?" Clary asked.

"Yeah, he just got home."

"Cool, tell him I say hi." She heard Izzy shout to her long-term boyfriend. The two had gotten together shortly after Clary had introduced them. Simon has been Clary's best friend since kindergarten, when they met. He was a comic book loving dork, glasses included, which is why most people had to double take when he and Isabelle were out together. Izzy was, in short, gorgeous. Dark hair that fell to her waist, icy blue eyes and angelic features had made several guys go weak in the knees, quite literally. Clary should know, she had seen it happen multiple times. When the two first met each other, they hit it off immediately. Izzy was much more than just a pretty face, graduating college in the top of her class, and going on to become a pretty famous fashion designer. She and Clary had worked together on several projects, one of which being the design for Izzy's company.

"He says hi back." There was a short pause and a rustling noise, as well as what sounded like a door slamming shut, before Izzy spoke up again. "You know, Clary, if you really don't want to do this, if the whole thing makes you too uncomfortable, Jace would understand. And if he doesn't, I will happily kick him in the balls for you." Izzy's nonchalance made Clary laugh.

"Honestly, I don't think it'll be all that bad. If tonight's dinner is too much, I'll let him know, and help him come up with an explanation to give his coworkers."

"Speaking of tonight, what are you going to wear?" Clary rolled her eyes. While fashion was a huge part of Izzy's world, it was very low on her own list of priorities.

"I don't know, something nicer, maybe a dress, or a skirt and blouse. Nothing too fancy." Clary could hear Izzy sigh over the phone, though she said nothing else. The pause in conversation gave her the ability to listen to the other line, and her eyes widened.

"Iz, are you outside?"

"Well, I knew you weren't going to pick out an outfit by yourself, so I'm half a block away from your building." Clary groaned.

"Izzy, I am perfectly capable of picking out an outfit all on my own, thank you very much." She knew it was fruitless to argue at this point. Once Izzy had her mind set on something, there was no changing it.

"Oh, really? Fine. If I can guess what you are wearing in this exact moment, you have to let me dress you for tonight. If not, I'll go home."

"Deal." The noise of the Manhattan streets ceased, and Clary sighed, knowing Izzy was already in her building.

"You're in your washed out, faded pair of jeans, barefoot, wearing your old purple 'Made in Brooklyn' tee." Clary looked down at her clothes, having momentarily forgotten what she was wearing.

"That's cheating, Iz. You've got to have a camera in here somewhere." Clary was already walking to the front door.

"It's not cheating, I just know you that well. Now let me in." Clary hung up the phone and reluctantly unlocked the door handle, stepping back when it swung into the apartment. Izzy stood before, clad in her usual attire; skin tight jeans, what looked like one of Simon's old t-shirts that she somehow turned into something that looked like it was made for her, and to top it all off, heels so high Clary would break her ankle if she took the smallest of steps while wearing them. In her hands, she held several garment bags.

"Hey Iz." Clary watched as Izzy walked in and practically made a beeline for her room, with Clary right on her heels.

"All right, fancy dinner with Jace's coworkers, as Jace's 'girlfriend'. Izzy said girlfriend while using air quotes, and Clary couldn't help but giggle.

"Yes, that's right. And we are leaving in less than two hours so this needs to be quick." Izzy turned with one of her signature looks on her face, the one that read 'try and stop me.'

"You can't rush art, Fray. Now go sit down while I go through your clothes."

"Go through my clothes? Really? I mean, it's not like you brought anything with you that you're just going to make me put on anyways." Clary may have sounded annoyed, but she was just teasing. This happened every time Clary went out on a date. Izzy would come over to her apartment with her own clothes, look through Clary's to 'not be rude' as she explained it, and then fitted Clary in a dress that was normally nothing she would ever buy for herself.

"Just, go sit down and wait." Clary walked over to her bed and flopped down, face first, on top of the covers. Sure enough, after about ten minutes of Izzy rummaging through Clary's closet, she unzipped the first garment bag and threw a black something or other at Clary's head. "Change," she commanded. Clary complied and was quickly trying to determine exactly how to put on whatever it was, much less _what_ it was. After fumbling around for a few seconds, Izzy came over and helped her tug the material over her head and pushed her arms through straps Clary hadn't known existed. Once the thing was on, Clary looked in the full-length mirror that was hanging on the door which led to the en-suite.

"Izzy, quick question." Clary said, slowly.

"Hmm?" Was the only response.

"What the hell am I wearing?" Clary all but shouted, making Izzy laugh.

"It's a dress, Clary."

"Hmph. Some dress. It looks more like a shirt to me." Izzy laughed again. Seriously though, the thing Izzy was calling a dress was something Clary would be far from comfortable in. It was skin tight, black, and stopped about mid-thigh, with off the shoulder straps that made Clary feel like her arms were glued to her sides.

"Okay, so not that one. Try on this next." She flung another article at Clary, who just managed to catch it before it hit her in the face. The next dress wasn't much better, but at least this one had straps.

"Iz, you wouldn't happen to have anything that didn't make me feel like I have to tug my dress down every five seconds, would you?" Izzy huffed and turned back to the many garment bags she had brought, muttering to herself. Finally, she pulled out a deep purple dress and threw it at Clary.

"Try that one, and hurry. It's almost 5:30, and I want to do your makeup." Clary rolled her eyes and tried on the dress. To her amazement, she absolutely loved it. It was a halter dress that reached just above her knees, and flared out at the waist, and the color was gorgeous. She turned and found that Izzy had already packed up the other clothes Clary had tried on. When given a weird look, Izzy shrugged. "What?" she asked. "I had a feeling you would like that one. Now sit down so I can do your makeup." She raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow at the resulting groan from Clary. "Like you actually thought this wasn't going to happen. We do this every time, don't we? Now sit." Izzy grinned as Clary dragged her feet over to the chair that sat in front of her desk.

About an hour later, the door to the apartment opened, and Jace's footsteps padded down the hall. A knock sounded at Clary's door, but Izzy told her to leave it closed.

"Sorry Jace, Izzy has me locked in. What do you need?" Jace's chuckle could be heard from the door before he responded.

"Just letting you know that we should leave in about 10 minutes or so to make it to the dinner on time." He paused, then added a short "hi Izzy" as an afterthought.

"Hey Jace, I'm almost done with her, and then she's all yours for the evening." Izzy smirked at the glare she received. Jace said nothing, and his footsteps could be heard retreating down the hall, presumably to his own room to get ready.

"I told you, Iz. It's not like that." Clary muttered, annoyed.

"I know, I know, I was just teasing." Izzy looked around Clary's room, searching for something. "I didn't forget to bring the shoes, did I? I never forget the shoes… aha! There they are." Izzy reached into one of her garment bags and pulled out a pair of silver flats. "Of course, I have heels, if you'd rather. These seemed much more your style though." Clary grinned as she slipped the shoes on her feet.

"They're perfect, Iz. Thank you." Clary beamed up at her best friend, who returned the smile.

"You're welcome." Clary looked at herself in the mirror. Izzy had transformed her into a princess, and she was stunned. Her face looked flawless, as did her hair, which Izzy had tried to do several up-dos with, but none of them stuck, and it was now down, her red waves framing her face which added to the overall look.

"I don't know, Iz. You don't think it'll be too much?"

"Nonsense. You look beautiful, and you're going to steal the show. Now get out there and have fun, missy." Clary laughed and opened the door to her room, walking out and down the hallway towards the foyer, with Izzy right behind her. When she stepped into the room, Jace looked up, and his eyes widened. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two of them until Izzy cleared her throat, snapping Jace out of his trance. Izzy giggled as he shook his head, trying to clear it.

"You look, um, you look good, Fray. Really good." Clary joined Izzy in laughter that time as Jace tried to say something else, but his mouth only opened and closed like a fish.

"It's a quarter to seven, Jace. We should go. Izzy, you know the way out. Lock up behind you." Clary addressed her friend before turning back to Jace, who still had that dumbstruck look on his face. "Jace, the time?" Clary gently reminded him. That seemed to snap him out of it, for good this time.

"Right, the time. We should go. Bye, Izzy." And with that, Jace opened the door, gestured for Clary to walk out before following her out into the hallway, gently shutting the door behind him and following his best friend to the elevator at the end of the hall. He didn't speak again until the doors to the elevator had closed, and they were slowly making their decent to the lobby of the building.

"Are you ready for this? There's still time to turn back if you don't want to go." Jace sounded slightly frantic, which made Clary giggle.

"It'll be fine, Jace. It's just dinner. Besides, you seem more nervous than I do. If anyone is going to wreck this dinner, it's going to be you." She teased, and this time, Jace smiled. The elevator dinged, signaling that they had reached their floor. As the doors opened, Jace offered his arm to Clary, which she took gingerly, giving him a surprised look.

"Despite popular belief, I do know how to be a gentleman. She smiled and they continued, out the doors of their building and towards the restaurant, which was only a five minute walk. This time, however, it seemed to take only five seconds before they reached the doorway. Jace opened the door and held it for her as she walked in. After a few seconds of scanning the crowded place, Jace raised his hand to a lively looking bunch, which made Clary nervous for the first time that night. She had never been much of a people person. Her mood lightened when she saw Magnus Bane, in all his sparkly glory, sitting next to Alec Lightwood, Jace and Isabelle's brother. The two friendly faces were enough to reassure her that she would be okay. Besides, she had Jace with her. When they reached the table, all chatter stopped. The women currently sitting at the table eyed her suspiciously, while the all the guys, save for Magnus and Alec, looked at her as if she had started levitating. Jace broke the silence by clearing his throat.

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Clary. My girlfriend." And with that, the night began.


	3. Chapter 3

Jace led Clary to the other side of the table where Magnus and Alec were sitting, side by side. Jace pulled out the seat on Magnus' left, and Clary sat down. Jace then took the seat to her left. Small side conversations had erupted, thankfully ending the awkward silence that had fallen over the table when Clary and Jace had arrived. After a few moments, Magnus got Clary's attention by poking her in the side. She turned her head towards him, and found a mischievous smirk on his face. A similar one was on Alec's which piqued her curiosity.

"What'd you do that for?" She asked.

"Well, we had to get your attention, how else was I going to do it?" Clary rolled her eyes. "You look stunning, darling. Alec thinks so too, but he's not one for giving compliments." In a hushed tone, he added "Then again, you already knew that." A faint blush lit Alec's cheeks and he elbowed his boyfriend in the ribs. Magnus chuckled.

"Thanks Magnus. You too, Alec." Alec nodded his response, and Clary smiled. Alec didn't talk much in front of people he didn't know, and Clary couldn't blame him.

"You're welcome, Clary." Magnus replied. In a louder tone, he asked, "Now, Clary, I have to know where you got this fabulous dress." Several glances were cast their way and Clary blushed.

"Magnus, what the hell are you doing? You know exactly where I got it."

"Well of course I know that, but they don't. It's an excellent conversation starter, if nothing else." He winked.

Clary had opened her mouth to respond when another voice from across the table spoke out.

"I was wondering that too. It's a fabulous color, and I'm sure it would look much better on someone with a more, how should I put this… A more natural hair color." The woman sitting across from Jace spoke directly to Clary, with an ugly smirk on her face.

"I'm sorry, who are you" Clary asked sweetly. To anyone that didn't know her, Clary seemed innocent when she used that voice. Those that did know her had learned long ago that her sweet voice was the one she used right before she lashed out to put someone in their place.

"I'm Kaelie, one of Jace's coworkers. Do tell me where you got that dress though, I'd like to see if somewhere more upscale has something similar. Don't want to be seen walking around in cheap fabric, do I?" Kaelie's grin was angelic, and Clary faked her embarrassment, looking down to 'hide' her blush. "Sorry dear, I didn't mean to humiliate you. I know not all of us can afford clothes from Idris fashions. That's a high-end clothing brand, in case you didn't know. It's all that I wear." At this point, Magnus, Alec, and Jace were all trying and failing to cover up their grins. Clary looked up at Kaelie.

"Well, Kaelie, there are several things you should know about me. One, my best friend is Isabelle Lightwood. She's the head designer of Idris fashions." Clary smirked as the other girl went white. "Two," she continued, "I'm an artist. I not only designed the logo for Idris fashions, I have helped to design the patterns Izzy uses on several of her creations, including the dress you are currently wearing." Clary glanced at Jace, who was shaking from trying to contain his laughter. "And three, you said that my dress, which Izzy handpicked for me, would look better on someone with a more 'natural' hair color. In that case, it's something you should never buy for yourself, since your hair is so obviously dyed blonde." Kaelie's knuckles had gone white from clutching the table, and coincidentally matched her pale face. Jace, Magnus, and Alec had all lost it by this point, and their laughter was contagious. Soon, everyone at the table was laughing, all except for Kaelie, of course. She just sat there glaring at Clary, who, in return, stuck her tongue out while crossing her eyes to throw the other girl off. Eventually the laughter died down as their waiter showed up at the table to take everyone's orders. Once he was gone, another person addressed Clary.

"So, Clary. Tell us a little about you. You said you were an artist, right?" Clary started at the simple question. She was perfectly fine with putting a snobby brat who thinks she's better than everyone in her place, but small talk was never her strong suit. Unused to all the attention, not to mention all the conversation, Clary was beginning to feel a little uneasy surrounded by mainly strangers. She jumped a little when Jace covered her hand with his own, squeezing it slightly to reassure her.

"Yes, that's right. I mainly paint, although I'll sketch on occasion." Clary answered, trying to ignore the spark that jumped up her arm when Jace grabbed her hand.

"Well that's fantastic. I've always admired artists. Do you paint for a living then?" This time, a girl Clary thought she remembered being introduced as Aline, was the one to speak.

"Yes and no. I do sell my paintings, but I am also an art professor at Alicante University." A mix of people were now listening, and Clary noticed that more than a few of them had mildly impressed looks on their faces.

"That's very impressive. I hear that getting a teaching job in the art world is very competitive. Congratulations." A slender man with midnight black hair spoke for the first time that evening. He was seated next to Kaelie, directly across from Clary. Ignoring the dirty look Kaelie gave him, he continued talking to Clary. "I also have a teaching job on campus. Sebastian Verlac, professor of medieval studies." Clary looked at him with more curiosity, and her focus allowed her to study him closely. While he was rather handsome, she didn't recognize him.

"I'm so sorry, all my time on campus is spent either at the coffee stand in the art building, or in my classroom." She blushed, embarrassed at not knowing who this man was.

"I understand. In all honesty, I'm new to the school, and I wouldn't have been able to place you as a professor there without you saying something." He smiled, and her stomach did a little flip. She was so focused on the conversation that she didn't notice Jace's tensed muscles, or how his hand had tightened on hers. The waiters that arrived with their food broke up the conversation, and Clary nudged Jace to get his attention. His golden eyes met her green ones.

"Are you all right?" she whispered, not wanting the others to hear. He only nodded in response, and released Clary's hand so she could eat. The food was excellent, and after the meal was over, no one was all that interested in talking anymore. The checks arrived then, and everyone started to disperse after they had paid. Jace and Clary walked out with Magnus and Alec, and Jace seemed to have relaxed after they left the restaurant. Alec and Magnus walked hand in hand in front of Clary and Jace, and everything was peaceful, until Clary felt Jace tense up at her side. She was about to ask why, when Sebastian appeared in her view.

"Clary, I was wondering if you'd be able to help me with a bit of a project." Jace stopped where he was, and Magnus turned back at the commotion with a raised eyebrow, as if asking if he needed to intervene. Clary met his gaze and waved him off.

"That depends on the project. I don't know much about medieval times if it's for your class." Clary replied hesitantly, trying, and failing to ignore the tingly feeling she had gotten when Jace had wrapped his hand around her waist. She glanced up at him, finding his jaw clenched, staring straight ahead.

"It's not. My mother's birthday is coming up in about a month, and I've been trying to find her something special, you know. Something she doesn't already have." Clary nodded, and he continued. "When you said that you were an artist, I thought that getting her a painting would be an excellent gift. Could I commission you to paint something for me?" Clary was taken aback by his request, but nodded again.

"Sure. I mean, I don't know exactly what your mom would like, but I'm sure I could come up with something, unless you had an idea already?" Sebastian looked thoughtful for a moment.

"I don't really have any concrete examples. I know that she likes flowers though, so maybe something like that." Clary smiled.

"Flowers, I can do. When do you need it by?"

"Her birthday is in a month from Tuesday, so maybe a month from today?" He asked tentatively, unsure of whether that was too little time.

"That works perfectly. I can bring it with me to school that day, and we can just meet there." Sebastian smiled.

"Excellent. Thank you so much Clary. Maybe I'll see you on campus sometime?" Clary met his smile with one of her own.

"Like I said, I don't really stray far from the art building, but maybe." Seeming satisfied with her answer, he nodded.

"See you around then. Have a good night."

"Goodnight, Sebastian." Then they went their separate ways. Jace was silent for the rest of the walk. When he didn't say anything once they stepped inside, Clary knew something was wrong. She didn't say anything until the door to their apartment had closed.

"Jace, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Instead of a response, Clary got the back of Jace's head as he walked towards his room. "Jace?" she questioned again. Again, nothing. She followed him down the hall and to his room, but the door was shut in her face before she could walk in. "What the hell, Jace?" Still no response. Grumbling to herself, Clary decided not to give up. She leaned back against his bedroom door, sliding down until she sat on the floor. "You know, this whole shutting me out won't work for long. I'll just keep talking until eventually you get so tired of hearing my voice that you talk just to get me to shut up. It's worked before, and it'll work again." She paused, listening for anything. When he stayed silent, she spoke up again.

"Fine then. You asked for it Herondale. I was talking with Izzy tonight about going shopping for a formal dress, you know, for the Christmas party, and she said she would be happy to make one for me if I didn't find one I liked, so there's that. I might just do that first, because no matter what, I always wind up wearing what Izzy picks out. I always love it though, don't tell her that." She paused. Still silence. "I guess you couldn't tell her anyways, what, with this vow of silence you have recently taken. We talked about how if I decided against going shopping, it wouldn't work with the bet you and I made, so we came up with a compromise. Instead of going out to look at dresses, you would just have to stay here and watch me try on dress after dress until I find one I like. Not to mention shoes. Those are sometimes even harder to find. You have to match the right shoe to the right dress, if it's long you'll need heels, and if it's short, you could wear heels or flats. Depending on the weather, you could wear sandals, really. Though probably not a good idea when going to a formal event—" Clary's words were cut off when the door she had been leaning against swung open. Now flat on her back, Clary looked up at Jace, who reached his hand down to help her off the floor.

"For the record, I think that tonight went pretty well if that's what you're so upset about. No one seemed suspicious, so that's a good thing." Jace, yet again, didn't say anything. He just looked at her. "What, so you'll open the door so I can talk to you instead of the wall, but you're not going to—"

Yet again, Clary's words were cut off. This time, it wasn't the door's fault. Jace had pulled her to his chest and crushed his lips down onto hers. Shocked, it took a second for her reflexes to step in, and then she was kissing him back. Her arms came up around his neck as his arms stayed locked around her hips. It ended abruptly when Jace practically jumped back into his room and all but slammed the door. Left alone, Clary brought her hand to her lips. Jace Herondale had kissed her. Jace, her best friend of seven years, had kissed her. And she had kissed him back. Clary stepped away from the door and walked towards her own room, certain of only one thing. Things were about to get a whole hell of a lot more complicated.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, classes got a little crazy so I had to put off writing this chapter. A huge thank you to all of my reviewers, you guys are awesome!**

Saturday morning, Clary woke up, blissfully unaware of the events that had transpired the previous evening for about two seconds, before the memory of Jace's lips against hers hit her full force. Glancing to her left, she saw the glaring red numbers read 8:17am. Jace was bound to be awake by now. She lay there for a moment before she realized that the apartment was silent. Clary knew that Jace never slept in, even on the weekend. If it was this quiet, he had to have left. Sighing, she rolled out of bed and went about getting ready for the day. It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes after she had gotten dressed that the silence of the apartment was starting to become uncomfortable. She needed to talk to someone. Clary pulled out her phone and dialed Izzy's number.

"Hey Clary, what's up?" Izzy asked, although her voice seemed a bit distant through the phone.

"Nothing really, are you on speaker phone?" Clary asked.

"Yeah, no one else is here though. I'm just on speaker because I'm driving to work."

"Work? Iz, you do know that today is Saturday, right?" Izzy laughed.

"Yes, I know. We have a photo shoot for Vogue today for the new collection. The dress you wore last night is in it, with some other pieces." Clary was silent on the other end of the phone. "Clary? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She responded, feeling guilty that she had called when Izzy had such a busy day.

"That's Clary speak for 'No, I'm not okay, I'm really upset about something' so spill it." Izzy was met with silence once again. "Clary, I will start to sing if you don't tell me what's going on. And neither one of us wants that." If there were two things Isabelle Lightwood couldn't do, it was sing and cook. She was terrible at both, and while she continuously denied her inability to cook, she knew she was a horrible singer, and used it to her advantage. "Okay, you asked for it. Cause baby you're a firework, come on let your—"

"For crying out loud Izzy, Jace kissed me." Clary cut her off and heard an audible gasp on the other end of the phone.

"He _what?_ Tell me everything, please." Clary complied and told the entire story of what had happened the previous night, talking for what felt like hours, but culminated into about a five-minute story. By the time she was done, she noticed that the background noise had ceased on the other line. A knock sounded at her door, and when she went to open it, she was very unsurprised to see her best friend standing on the other side. She was surprised, however, when Izzy told her to grab her shoes.

"Why?" She asked, after putting her phone away.

"Well, you're obviously coming with me to this photo shoot." Izzy said, slightly annoyed she had to explain herself in the first place.

"No, Iz." Clary responded, which only made Izzy more annoyed.

"Yes, Clary. I really don't have time to argue with you about this. You're coming. You can hang out with Magnus behind the scenes. Now put on your shoes." She paused, then added "Oh, and grab that dress you wore last night." Clary was about to ask why again, but the look on Izzy's face told her not to. She grabbed the dress and put on her shoes, following Izzy outside of the apartment. After they stopped so Clary could lock the door, the two opted to take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator, and walked outside to Izzy's waiting car. It was a short drive to Izzy's office, one that Clary had made many times herself. After parking the car, they made their way into the building. It was in chaos. Several people came running up to Izzy all at once, with different problems. Most of them ignored Clary, and she gave the dress she had brought to Izzy before going off in search of Magnus, who she found in the room adjacent to the dressing rooms. He spotted her and smiled.

"Clary, darling, I'm so glad you're here. I need some help with this one." The tall man lightly tugged on the hair of the model he was currently styling. Clary grinned.

"I'm not sure how much help I'm going to be, Magnus. I can barely do my own hair, let alone someone else's."

"Nonsense, you're an artist. You've helped me before and you did a beautiful job. Now get over here." Clary walked over and did as Magnus asked of her, ignoring the glare the model sent in her direction when she started to arrange her hair. Magnus caught the look and spoke to the girl sitting in the chair. "You know, darling, you might want to reconsider your attitude towards my dear friend Clary here. After all, she did design the pattern on that dress you're wearing." Clary blushed but didn't comment. The model's eyes grew wide and Magnus smirked slightly before finishing the girl's hair. "There we go, finished. Makeup is down the hall." The model nodded and thanked the two before disappearing out the door.

"Okay, we've got about five minutes before the next one comes in the door. What happened between you and blond beauty last night?" Magnus asked, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

"Ugh Magnus, it wasn't like that." Clary said, exasperated.

"Not like that doesn't mean that nothing happened, Clary." Magnus was grinning like a lunatic. "What _did_ happen between you two?" He asked

"He kissed me." Clary said, hiding her face in her hands. "He kissed me and then he ignored me for the rest of the night. He was even gone before I woke up this morning." She said, albeit somewhat muffled as she was talking into her hands instead of to Magnus. He didn't seem to have any trouble understanding though.

"That doesn't sound like Jace. He's giving you the silent treatment?" He watched as Clary nodded miserably. "Wow. That's got to be tough. Especially because he never shuts up. Honestly, I'd probably enjoy the silence." Magnus chuckled softly, trying to cheer up Clary. "Look, I can't speak for Jace himself, but he's probably too confused to do much else besides give you the cold shoulder." Clary looked up, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, he kissed you. You two have been strictly best friends for what, seven years? He probably feels really awkward right now." Magnus explained.

"Okay, but is that really an excuse to ignore me? I mean, I kissed him back, so if anything, we're in the same boat right now. Refusing to acknowledge the problem is just going to make it more difficult to deal with." She glanced up at Magnus, who was watching her curiously.

"You know, Clary, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a bit of a crush on Jace." Clary looked down, trying and failing to hide the blush on her cheeks. Magnus laughed. "You do, don't you?"

"I don't know, Magnus. I really don't. The thought of Jace as anything more than a friend is foreign and weird, but last night, I just, I don't know." Magnus opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the door opening and another model coming in through the door. Shortly after they had finished her hair, Izzy waltzed into the room.

"Clary, come with me for a sec." Izzy waited for Clary to walk over to her, and then walked out of the room, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Clary was still following. Izzy stopped in front of the dressing rooms and opened the door. Before Clary could ask what was going on, Izzy pushed her in the room and followed her in. The only thing in the room was the dress Clary had worn to the dinner party.

"Izzy, what are you doing? More importantly, what am _I_ doing?" Clary asked hesitantly, unsure if she wanted to know the answer or not.

"Well, we tried to have other models wear this dress, and it fit them, but something was off about the style. They're all too tall for the dress. Instead of the hem coming to just above their knees, it stops just below mid-thigh. We need a shorter model, and you fit the description better than anyone else here." Clary was gaping at her friend.

"Izzy, there is no way in hell that I will model this for Vogue. Are you crazy?" Izzy grinned, and Clary already knew what her response would be.

"Why, yes Clary. I am crazy. Very crazy. Which is why I want you to model this for me."

"No. Absolutely not."

"Come on, Clary. Pretty please? You looked so gorgeous in this dress, and you know it. Besides, everyone knows your name from the pattern designs. They want to put a name to a face, and what better way for them to meet you than while you're modeling for a Vogue photoshoot?" Izzy pleaded.

"Oh, I don't know. How about they meet me over coffee? That's much more my style." Clary retorted.

"Clary, please?" Izzy was using her puppy dog eyes on her. Clary's unfortunate mistake was looking Izzy in the eyes.

"Never again, Izzy. You hear me? Never. Again." Clary stated, although the bigger part of her knew that Izzy hadn't taken any of it to heart. She watched as her best friend jumped up and down, ecstatic that she had managed to pull this off.

"Yes! Okay, put on the dress and the shoes, and then go see Magnus to do your hair. I'll be in makeup which is behind the set, so I can guide you through the rest. This is going to be great!" With that, Izzy walked out of the room, leaving Clary alone.

"I can't believe that I'm about to do this" she muttered to herself as she put on the dress.

About twenty minutes later, Clary was getting final touches on her makeup. Her hair hadn't taken long. All Magnus had done to her loose curls was spray them with hairspray so they wouldn't get out of hand. Izzy had done her makeup herself, almost replicating how she had done it the night before. When Izzy had finished, she walked Clary over to the set and introduced her to the photographer. After that, the photoshoot seemed to pass by in a blur. The photographer would suggest poses for her to try, and occasionally Izzy would chime in with a couple of tips for her that would show off the dress. It had only seemed like a few minutes until she was told they were finished, and Izzy led her off the set.

"You were fantastic, Clary. I seriously think your shoot was the best of the day. Then again, that is my favorite piece of this collection, and you _are_ my best friend, so I might be a little biased." Izzy giggled, and Clary laughed with her.

"It honestly was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be." Izzy gave her a hopeful look. "I said never again, Iz. I mean it." The hopeful look turned into a challenging one, and Clary couldn't help but laugh again.

"You know you had fun, don't lie." Izzy remarked.

"Fine, maybe I had a little fun. That doesn't mean I'd like to go through that again though. It was nerve wrecking being surrounded by all of those people and all the lights." Clary admitted.

"Yes, I know how you feel. You still did fantastic though. Now, go change, and we can go get coffee or something to celebrate." Clary grinned at the mention of coffee and changed back into her clothes quickly. Izzy was waiting outside the room and turned to walk out of the building until Clary stopped her.

"Um, Iz? I still need to take off this makeup." Izzy glanced at Clary, and smiled.

"No, you don't, you look great." Clary glared at her, but Izzy didn't budge. "I'm serious, Clary. You don't need to take it off. It looks fine." She started walking in the direction of the parking lot, and Clary rushed to catch up with her.

"Izzy, I still don't like this. We're going for coffee, not for drinks. I feel overdressed." At this, Izzy looked at Clary's outfit.

"Clary, you're wearing jeans and a sweater. How is that overdressed?" Izzy replied.

"Iz, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean, Clary?" Izzy asked sweetly. Too sweet for Clary to believe that she had no idea what was going on.

"Forget it. Let's just go, I need coffee." Izzy grinned manically, knowing she had won. Clary glanced at her. "And you're paying for it." Izzy's smile lessened some, but she still had a grin on her face as the two walked out to her car.

As they walked into Clary's favorite coffee shop, her eyes were first drawn to two things. One, the menu which read that they had run out of hazelnut syrup, and two, that there was a very familiar head of blond hair that was sitting across from a girl that Clary vaguely recognized to be one of the dimwitted girls her best friend had dated over the years she had known him. Jace was on a date in Clary's favorite coffee shop, and that stung. Izzy noticed Clary was staring at something and followed her gaze, doing a double take with what she saw. Clary was extremely grateful that his back was to her, because she didn't want him to see the look of disbelief she was sure was being displayed on her face. She didn't notice Izzy had ordered their coffees until she pulled Clary off to the side of the shop to wait at the counter.

"Clary, snap out of it." Izzy shook her shoulders slightly, which brought Clary out of her weird trance. She looked at Izzy and saw her best friend had an expression that was a mix between concern and distaste. "Are you okay? I can't believe he's on a date. More specifically that he's on a date in your coffee shop." Izzy glared in Jace's direction.

"It's not my coffee shop, Iz. I'm fine anyway. It's not like last night was spectacular or anything. It was… just a kiss." Even Clary could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Was last night really just a kiss? It certainly felt like something more to her. Apparently, Jace didn't feel the same way. She heard him laugh, and the sound was like someone had punched her in the gut. She mentally shook herself and snapped out of it. Their coffees were mercifully done quickly, and Izzy and Clary left the coffee shop as fast as they could. As soon as they were out the door, Izzy spoke up.

"Are you sure it was just a kiss, Clary?" She asked. Clary hesitated before responding.

"Well, it was to Jace, that much is obvious." Clary responded, trying to keep the sting out of her words.

"Okay, maybe it was just a kiss to him. But what about you?" Izzy asked again.

"I… I really don't know, Iz. It didn't feel like just a kiss, but in reality, that's all it was. We kissed once, and that was it." Clary responded, and Izzy glanced at her concerned before deciding to drop the matter. The two were silent until they got back to Clary's apartment building. Once inside, Izzy spoke up again.

"You know what you need? To get your mind off this. You can't stay here, obviously, so let's go out tonight." She said, and Clary glanced at her.

"Izzy," she began, before she was cut off again.

"No, Clary. I'm not taking no for an answer. You need to go out tonight and forget about all of this." She gestured to the apartment. "Let's go out, have some fun. It'll be a blast. We could go dancing at one of the clubs."

"Izzy, I wasn't going to say no. For once, I actually agree with you on this." She paused and smiled at the grin on Izzy's face. "What I was going to say is that we shouldn't go out by ourselves, it isn't exactly safe, you know." Izzy looked thoughtful for a moment before her face lit up again.

"I got it! Let's call Alec and Magnus, they'd go with us, I'm sure of it." Clary laughed.

"Izzy, you know Alec better than I do, and I know that a night club, or even a bar, is definitely not his scene." Izzy smirked, having already thought of this.

"Sure, my brother might be a bit of a recluse. However, his boyfriend absolutely loves this kind of thing, so I have no doubt that Magnus will be able to convince him to go out for a night." She responded, grabbing her phone to call Magnus. Two minutes later, she had hung up the phone. "Alright, it's settled. Magnus and Alec will be at my apartment around 8:00, so we have a couple of hours to get there, get ready and do whatever else we need to." She paused, contemplating what to do next. "I don't think we have anything else to do here, are you ready to go?" She asked. Clary nodded. They had barely been in her apartment, so she had all she needed with her. She grabbed the jacket that was hanging by the door, and followed Izzy out into the hall and out of the building. Once outside, they ran into Jace and his date for the evening as the two were about to enter the building. Jace froze for a moment before shaking himself out of it.

"Hi Jace." Izzy said cheerfully.

"Hey, Iz. Big plans for tonight?" He asked, looking at Clary the entire time.

"Yes, actually. Clary and I are going out tonight for some fun. I'd say you are welcome to join us, but it seems as though you already have…plans for the evening." Izzy smirked, glancing at the girl who was trying to drag Jace away from Izzy and Clary before shifting her gaze back to the blond himself.

"Let's just go, Izzy. He's not really worth our time." Clary spoke up, distracting Izzy and shocking Jace.

"You know what? You're absolutely right, Clary. We need to go get ready anyway." Izzy grabbed Clary and stepped around Jace. Clary ignored the look Jace was giving her, and followed Izzy. Before they left, Clary glanced over her shoulder and saw that Jace was watching the two of them go.

"Bye, Jace." She called out, making Izzy laugh. The two stepped into Izzy's car, and sped off towards Izzy's apartment to get ready for the events of the evening.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys. Sorry for the late update, I really meant to get to this sooner, but I've had so much on my plate it's been hard to find time to write without having something else to do. The updates will probably stay pretty slow until summer, when I won't have nearly as much to do. Also, a HUGE thank you to all of my reviewers and followers, this is my first fanfiction and it really means a lot to me that you all seem to like it. You guys are awesome.**

"No."

"Oh, come on. This will be super cute on you!"

"There is no way in Hell that you are ever going to get me into that pathetic excuse of a dress."

Izzy held out said dress at arm's length, looking at it fully before continuing to argue. "Clary, it really isn't that bad." She reasoned. At this, Clary stopped fumbling with the seemingly endless supply of clothes Izzy had thrown at her, and glared at her best friend. "Don't give me that look, Clary. Just go try it on, you'll see what I'm talking about." Izzy flung the dress across the room to Clary, who reluctantly grabbed it and hopped down from the bed to try it on as Izzy disappeared back into her closet. Once the dress was on properly, Clary turned to look at herself in the full-length mirror attached to Izzy's door. It was nothing she would have ever picked out for herself, but as much as she hated to admit it, Izzy was right; it really wasn't that bad. Black spaghetti straps adorned her shoulders, holding up a stretchy black dress that clung to her skin, but stopped a little lower than mid-thigh. The only thing that really bothered here were the small cut outs in the sides of the dress. They weren't very revealing, just more so than she was used to. She sighed and Izzy poked her head out from behind the door to her walk-in closet. At the sight of Clary, she grinned.

"See? I told you so. Now all you need are the shoes." Clary scowled.

"I still don't like it." She objected.

"I know you don't, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't look fantastic on you." Izzy's voice became slightly muffled as she walked back into her closet, prompting Clary to follow her into what had to be the biggest closet ever seen in a Manhattan apartment. Izzy and Simon lived in a spacious one bedroom apartment that was only a few blocks away from where Jace and Clary lived. Both Simon and Izzy shared the master bedroom, and thus, shared the closet. However, despite the shelving and the hanging racks that were on each wall, not to mention the wall of shoe compartments, Simon's clothes only took up a fraction of the storage. The rest was all Izzy's, although a bit of it was taken up by designs she was currently working on but not ready to sell yet. Clary's glanced around the room, her eyes landing briefly on the dress Izzy had set out for herself. It was similar to Clary's in color and style, although it had halter straps, and there was a deep v in the neckline that was loosely laced up. Her attention turned back to Izzy when she had held something out to her. That something happened to be a pair of black knee high boots. Clary took them gingerly, looking at them in distaste, though she chose to say nothing about them, mainly because she knew complaining would get her nothing but a sharp look from Izzy. Sighing, she slid them onto her feet and began lacing them up to her knees. When she eventually had them tied, she stood up, surprised by how well she seemed to balance in them. The heels were stratospheric to her, and with her limited time walking in normal heels, she should have been a lot more unstable than she was. Izzy had just finished dressing and had chosen to go with a pair of black strappy stillettos. She read Clary's look of surprise as she was walking around, and smiled.

"See, I told you it would get easier with a little bit of practice. And today at the photo shoot you had to stand and move around in heels for about an hour, so don't act so surprised." Izzy said, earning a halfhearted glare from Clary, who had opened her mouth to retort back but was interrupted by the sound of the front door opeing and closing.

"Hello? Iz, are you home? You had better not be trying to scare me again." Clary immediately perked up at the sound of Simon's voice. The two had known each other since they were in kindergarten, and had gone from seeing each other every day to maybe seeing each other once a week or less. It was much less often than Clary would have preffered.

"We're in here, Si." Izzy called back, and moments later Simon walked into the bedroom, only to stop short seeing his girlfriend in her outfit. His mouth was slightly open, and Clary was sure that he would have drooled if she hadn't cleared her throat, drawing his attention away from Izzy in her dress.

"Clary! What are you doing here? And why are you walking around in heels, or should I say _how_ are you walking around in heels?" He gave Clary a hug, which she returned before pulling away and hitting him in the arm.

"At least I can walk in heels better than you can, Simon. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were jealous." Simon grinned.

"Nope, not in any way, shape, or form. I have a hard enough time walking around in sneakers, and I'm proud of it." He replied, making both Clary and Izzy laugh. Simon turned his head back to Izzy and stared for a moment before shaking himself out of it. "Now, not that I'm not enjoying the outfit you're in, Iz, why exactly are you dressed like that? And Clary too, for that matter. You never wear dresses, and you never _ever_ wear dresses like that one." Clary rolled her eyes.

"Well, so far I've determined that Izzy is trying to kill me in one of two ways; death by embarrassment, or death by heels. I'm not sure which at this point, but if I had to choose, I'd go with embarrassment. After all, I can walk in these." She gestured to her shoes, "but I am far from comfortable in this dress."

"Oh, stop it, Clary. You know you look hot in that dress, so quit whining. And I already told you, the hour you spent walking around in them today is what's making walking in those heels so easy right now." She paused. "That, and the fact that those are far more secure on your feet than any heels I've had you wear before." She concluded. Izzy did have a point, boots seemed to be a lot easier to walk in than any other heels Clary had ever worn. Izzy continued. "I'm taking Clary out tonight. Jace is being an ass, and she needed an excuse to get out of her apartment, so we're going dancing with Magnus and Alec." Izzy explained, looking at Simon.

Simon chuckled. "Jace, being an ass? I never would have thought. I mean, it's not like that was my first impression of him or anything." Neither girl joined him in his laughter, which made his eyes widen at the sincerity of the statement. "Okay, so Jace is being an ass. How is this any different from his normal personality? I mean, he's always been a bit of a jerk, just less of one to the people he actually likes." Simon asked. When Clary didn't speak up, instead choosing to stare at the floor, Izzy responded with a brief overview of what had happened over the course about 24 hours.

"Well, long story short, Jace asked Clary to pretend to be his girlfriend to get some coworkers off his back about his single status, they went to dinner with a group of said coworkers, Jace kissed Clary after the dinner, has been giving her the silent treatment ever since, and we ran into him on a date at Clary's coffee shop." Izzy summarized, and Clary finally looked up when she was done.

"Huh. So Jace kissed you, and then took a date to your coffee shop. Interesting." Simon said.

"First, it's not my coffee shop. Second, what do you mean by interesting?" Clary responded.

"Maybe the place doesn't have your name on it, but it might as well seeing as how you practically lived there in college. The reason it's interesting is because it seems like he wanted you to see him on his date." Simon didn't elaborate, earning him a very confused stare from Clary.

"That actually makes sense." Izzy said, before Clary could speak up. Clary whipped her head around from Simon to Izzy and found the girl going through her makeup before coming over to Clary, who was now sitting in front of the vanity table.

"How does that make any sense? Why would Jace want me to see him on a date, it's not like I've ever cared before." Clary said as Izzy started to touch up her makeup, seeing as how it was already applied from the afternoon.

"Exactly. You've never cared _before_. But you do care now, and Jace knows it. He wanted to show you that whatever happened meant nothing to him, reinforcing the belief that he hasn't changed, that he's still the same guy he used to be before he kissed you. What I don't think he realizes is how much he's hurting you by doing this. Now, don't get me wrong, it doesn't excuse his behavior. There are about ten different ways he could have handled the situation other than what he's been doing." Izzy said, and Simon nodded along with her. Clary didn't say anything, making Izzy change the subject.

"So, anyway, that all happened and now we're going out tonight because Clary needs to have some fun." She paused. "Come to think of it, you could use a night out too. Want to come with us?" Izzy asked Simon, briefly turning her head away from Clary to address her boyfriend, before turning back and seeing the confused look Clary was displaying. "Some hothead has been making Simon stay late at work over the past week for the most miniscule details, and it's been driving him crazy." Izzy explained and Clary nodded and both girls turned their attention back to Simon.

He snorted. "Yeah, come and be the third wheel to my own girlfriend? No thanks."

"Oh Simon, you wouldn't be the third wheel." Simon gave her a skeptical look. "Okay, fine. Maybe you would be by a tiny bit. So what? Invite one of your friends to come with us. What about Raphael, he's probably just as fed up as you are with this guy." Izzy said.

"I guess that might be alright. I'm not really sure if he likes going out though, he doesn't do much of anything outside of work." Simon said as he pulled out his phone to text Raphael. Simon and Raphael were coworkers in the sense that Raphael owned the recording studio Simon worked for. The two didn't get along at first, something about Raphael not recognizing Simon's credentials and trying to get him fired. It wasn't until Simon had saved the studio from being robbed that Raphael had finally started to warm up to him. That was a couple of years ago, and now Raphael had been incorporated into their little group.

"I don't know, he might enjoy it. If anything, it's worth a shot." Izzy said.

"He said he's in." Simon said after a moment or two. Izzy smiled.

"Great, tell him to meet us here in…" Izzy was cut off by a knock at the door, and she glanced at the clock. "Dammit, they said they'd be here at eight, I should've known they'd be early." She paused briefly, turning to Simon. "Could you go answer the door? I need to do Clary's make-up." Simon nodded and walked out, missing the way Clary whipped her head around to glare at Izzy.

"What?" Izzy asked innocently.

"You have absolutely no reason to do my makeup, there's already too much of it caked onto my face is, and I'd like to keep from adding more, thank you." Clary quipped, but she was unfortunately no match for Izzy.

"Clary, would you just sit down?" She asked, gesturing to the chair at the vanity table. Clary shook her head, prompting Izzy to grab her arm and drag her over to the table instead.

"Ouch" Clary said, rubbing her wrist where Izzy had tugged on her arm.

"Oh, don't act like that hurt, you're fine." Izzy replied, just as Simon walked in with Magnus and Alec in tow, the former of which immediately made his way over to the table and started playing with Clary's hair. Clary's eyes immediately found Alec's, silently pleading with him to make Magnus stop, to which Alec only shrugged apologetically, although Clary didn't miss the way his lips twisted up into a small grin at her distress. This is when she noticed that Alec's hair was gelled, something that she rarely saw, and that it almost seemed like he had…

"You let him put _glitter_ in your hair?" Clary asked incredulously, making all eyes turn to her and then to Alec, who was blushing furiously and turning to Magnus.

"I told you this was too much" He whispered harshly, making Magnus giggle.

"Alec, dear, it's fine. Clary's just jealous." Magnus's mischevious glint in his eye had not gone unnoticed by Clary or Izzy, and now it was a game of cat and mouse between the two, with Izzy trying to dump glitter on her head, and Clary quite literally running away from her. In all honesty, it wasn't that much, but to Clary, any glitter was too much glitter.

Izzy managed to persuade Clary into applying just a teeny tiny bit of glitter to 'make her eyes pop' and 'dazzle the room.' Clary only agreed after both Izzy and Magnus had promised to leave her hair and makeup alone after the fact, to which they both reluctantly agreed. During the chase, Raphael had arrived and after everyone had calmed down, they were ready to leave.

"Okay, does everyone have everything they need? If not, grab it quick because we won't be back here for a few hours." Clary glanced down at her watch and grimaced. Izzy sounded like she had planned for them to be out until much later than Clary herself had planned. Everyone made their way out the door and after waiting for Izzy to lock the door, the group set out on the streets of Manhattan, their group too big for a cab, and the place they were going to was only a couple of blocks away, or so Clary was told. In her heels, it felt more like a couple of miles before they were at Pandemonium. Clary had been here once before, when Izzy dragged her out on her 21st birthday. To be honest, she really didn't remember all that much from that experience. In fact, she hardly recognized the door, and was shocked to see the long, winding line of people waiting to get in. She stopped in her tracks at the sight of so many people. The others noticed her pause and Izzy looped her arm through Clary's, dragging her along.

"You'll be fine, Clary. No need to get so worked up over it. It's not like someone's going to get stabbed or anything. Just drinks and dancing, that's it." Clary shook her head.

"I'm not nervous about being inside. I'm just not particularly fond of waiting outside for hours to _get_ inside." Izzy snorted, and then looked at Clary seriously.

"You're not serious, are you?" Izzy asked, her eyes widening before she started to giggle. Clary looked to Magnus for help, but found him smirking at her.

"What?" Clary asked, exasperated.

"Clary, darling. I don't just style hair for a living, you know." Magnus replied before walking towards the doors of the building. When Clary still wasn't able to connect the dots, Alec decided to have mercy and tell her what was going on as the group continued behind Magnus.

"Magnus owns Pandemonium, Clary. That's why we don't have to wait. It's also why we came here, of all places." Alec explained.

"Oh." Was all Clary could say. How had she known Magnus for this long, and never known that he owned a club that was ten minutes walking distance from her apartment?

Shaking her head, Clary followed the group inside and was unsurprised to find Izzy grabbing her arm and dragging her over to the bar, making her sit down before practically yelling to the bartender over the music. A couple of minutes later, Izzy returned with two drinks in hand.

"Here, drink this." Izzy thrusted the glass into Clary's hand, who regarded it carefully.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Oh, it's not going to bite you, I promise. Just drink it." She said. Clary took a sip and coughed, making Izzy laugh.

"Jeez, Izzy. Why?" Clary spluttered.

"Because I know that you wouldn't dance at all otherwise. You'll thank me later." Izzy replied, just before Simon came over and joined them briefly before Izzy decided to drag him out onto the dance floor. Simon locked eyes with Clary and she could practically hear him begging her to get him out of it, even though they both knew it was pointless. If Izzy wanted to dance, she would dance. And if she wanted to dance with Simon, then Simon was going to dance. Clary grinned at her friend before turning her back to the dance floor. She was reading one of the signs overhead that described the drinks, trying to figure out what was in her hand before someone tapped her on the shoulder. Clary turned her head and her eyes widened.

"Sebastian?" She said, stunned.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi again. I know it's been a while since I've updated, but I promise that this story isn't abandoned. I'll try to get more chapters updated throughout the summer, but I can't make any promises. Thank you again to all of my followers and reviewers! I love reading what you guys have to say.**

 _"Sebastian?" She said, stunned._

"The one and only." He replied. After a bit of an awkward pause, he spoke up again. "You know, I'm pretty surprised to see you here too, but at least I have the capability to keep my mouth from hanging open." Clary shut her mouth quickly, wincing as her teeth clashed together. She glared at Sebastian, who chuckled. "Okay, I'll admit that may have been a little harsh." He said, grinning when she rolled her eyes at him.

"It's pretty rare for me to go out. Typically, I only go out because my friends drag me." She paused briefly to take a sip of her drink before continuing. "Besides, it's weird enough to run into a colleague while grocery shopping, let alone running into one while sitting in a night club after my best friend forced me into this ridiculous outfit to get me out of the house." She finished, smirking at Sebastian. Instead of responding, Sebastian wisely chose to change the subject and started glancing around the room, making a point of looking next to Clary until she asked him what he was doing.

"Well, you said you only go out if you were dragged by someone, so I'm merely trying to find out who you're here with. I don't see the blond beauty here, so I'm assuming you're not with Jace." Clary nearly flinched at the sound of her roommate's name, covering her discomfort by rolling her eyes and answering his question.

"There's a group of us here tonight." She turned in her seat and immediately found Izzy and Simon on the dance floor. Pointing them out, she said "Those two dancing are Izzy and Simon. Over there, off to the side is Alec, and next to him is Raphael. I'm not sure where…"

"I'm right here, Clary. Doing a head count, are we?" Magnus said, having snuck up on her while her back was turned.

"I guess you could call it that. Magnus, this is Sebastian, he works at the university. Sebastian, this is Magnus."

"How wonderful. You must come and join us." Magnus invited, to which Sebastian accepted without hesitation. Clary hopped down off the barstool and followed the two men over to Alec and Raphael. The group was quickly joined by Izzy and Simon, and Clary introduced Sebastian to everyone. It didn't take long for their group to split up again. Izzy had barely been there a minute before she grabbed Simon's hand and led him back to the dance floor. After a substantial amount of pleading on Magnus's part, he and Alec followed them out. That left Clary, Raphael, and Sebastian to talk amongst themselves. Unfortunately, because the two men didn't know each other, Clary was left to do most of the talking, and small talk was not one of her specialties. She tried to start a conversation a couple of times, both of which ultimately ended in awkward silence.

"I'm going to go get a drink." Raphael said, ending the silence that had surrounded them as he made his way across the room to the bar. She glanced at Sebastian, surprised to find him looking a little flustered.

"Are you all right?" She asked, concerned.

"Actually, I don't feel too well. I think I'm going to take off." She looked him over, and realized that he looked more flushed than usual.

"Okay. You're not going to drive, are you?" Sebastian smiled at her concern.

"No, I'll call a cab. Maybe I'll see you on Monday? I can swing by your classroom to pick up the painting, if that's all right."

"That sounds perfect. I'll see you then. Get home safe, okay?" He replied with a nod of his head and started walking towards the door. Clary watched his retreating form for a couple of moments before shifting her gaze back to the dance floor, spotting Magnus before anyone else, who met her eyes and beckoned to her, inviting her to dance. Clary rolled her eyes and shook her head playfully. Magnus shrugged and turned his attention back to his boyfriend. Clary smiled at the two of them before she was distracted by someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned and saw a tall man with dark hair and startling blue eyes.

"You must really hate dancing." The stranger said. Clary must have looked confused, because he smiled. "I saw him beckon you to the floor a minute ago," he said, nodding his head in Magnus's general direction. "I may not be gay, but it's not hard to recognize that he's fairly attractive."

"I suppose he is. The only downside is that he is currently dating my best friend's brother." She replied, looking back at Magnus who was now dancing with Alec.

"Oh. I didn't realize he was gay." The stranger said, awkwardly.

"Actually, he prefers freewheeling bisexual." Clary retorted back, enjoying the flustered look on the man's face. He laughed, nervously running his hands through his hair, and Clary decided to take pity on him. She extended her hand. "I'm Clary."

"Clary. That's a lovely name." There was an awkward pause. "Oh! I'm Will. I guess I should have told you that." Another awkward moment followed. "Well, this is off to a fantastic start. Normally, I'm much better at this kind of thing."

"Are you now?" Clary asked. "What changed tonight?"

"My best friend just got engaged." He replied vaguely.

"That doesn't seem like much of a reason to be upset."

"Yeah, well, did I mention that he is engaged to the woman I love?" He said, running his hand through his hair once again.

"I could see how that would mess up your game. If it's any consolation, my best friend has been avoiding me for two days." She replied, glad to see Will relax as he realized he wasn't the only one who wasn't in much of a celebratory mood.

"Is your friend here tonight?"

"No, he's out with some girl he used to date. I'm here with a pretty big group of people. Most of them are out dancing, and the others left already."

"Would you like to dance?" He asked, abruptly.

"What?"

"Well, if all your friends are on the dance floor, and you're sitting here by yourself, wouldn't it make sense to go join them?" He smirked.

"I don't know, I'm not much of a dancer."

"Well, it just so happens that I am a very good dancer. What do you say?" Will held out his hand.

After a moment, she took it. "Alright, let's go."

He led her out onto the dance floor, and Clary followed hesitantly, being very much out of her comfort zone. She soon realized that Will was not bluffing when he said he was a good dancer. After a few awkward moments of her trying to find the beat, she stopped thinking and started dancing with him. Eventually the beat slowed down and she opened her eyes, not remembering when she had closed them originally. Will had moved behind her, and he smiled when she tilted her head back to look up at him. She blushed and looked back down, scanning the dance floor. She became a little nervous when she couldn't find anyone from her group but relaxed when she felt a tap on her shoulder and looked over to see Izzy with Simon in tow. Will had stopped dancing, and they had moved over closer to the edge of the dance floor.

"We're about ready to head out, Clary." Izzy said, briefly glancing up at Will before giving Clary a mischievous look.

"Oh, okay." Clary paused briefly, looking at Izzy before taking a deep breath and turning to Will. "You're welcome to come with us, if you like? I'm not sure where we're going, but…" Clary trailed off as Izzy pinched her side. "Ouch, Iz. What?" She asked, not giving Will the chance to respond.

"Oh, nothing. We just didn't really have any plans. Alec and Mags already left, and Simon and I were going to go home. It'd really just be the two of you." Simon was about to interrupt before Izzy elbowed him in the ribs, which did not go unnoticed by Clary. Knowing exactly what Izzy was up to, she made a fast mental decision and turned back to Will.

"I guess it'd just be you and me then, if you're up for it." She said, looking at the handsome man standing next to her. He smiled.

"I'm definitely up for it. Just let me go let my friends know. I'm sure they're around here somewhere," He said before glancing around the room. After a moment, he walked over to a tall man with silver hair and a beautiful brunette woman who were sitting beside each other at the bar with their hands intertwined. Clary watched them for a moment before Izzy spun her around.

"Ok, tell me everything." Izzy said, clutching onto Clary's arm.

"There's not much to tell, Iz. Could you maybe remove your death grip now?" Clary asked.

"Sorry, sorry. And don't say that. That man is gorgeous. What's his name?"

"His name is Will, and he's coming back over here." Izzy snapped her gaze up to find that Clary was telling the truth and grabbed Simon's arm.

"Are you ready to go, Simon?" Izzy asked, not giving him a chance to respond before dragging him towards the exit.

Clary watched them go and was startled when a warm hand brushed her arm. She looked over at Will, who had returned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare off your friends."

"No need to apologize, you didn't scare them off. That's just how Izzy is sometimes." She said, blushing.

"I see. Well, where would you like to go, now that it's just the two of us?" He asked.

Clary thought for a moment. "If I'm being honest, I wouldn't mind dancing some more."

Will smiled. "I thought you said you weren't much of a dancer." He teased, grabbing her hand and leading her out onto the dance floor. There were only a few couples now, most of them having gone home. The music had turned slow, and Will pulled her into his chest, settling his hands gently on her waist.

"It helps to have a dance partner who actually seems to know what they're doing." She replied as she lifted her arms up to rest on his shoulders, her hands coming up to rest on his neck as they started to sway gently to the music.

"So, you admit that I'm a good dancer?" He said, trying and failing to hide the smirk in his voice.

"I'm not sure that I would go _that_ far. After all, I've never really danced before, so what do I know?" He grinned down at her but said nothing else, and Clary relaxed in his embrace. Eventually, the song ended, and the DJ announced that the club was closing for the night.

Will broke the silence. "What should we do now?"

Clary looked at the time, realizing that it was now close to three in the morning. "I should probably be getting home." She said, dreading the thought of returning home and facing Jace. Will must have noticed this.

"Do you live far?" He asked.

"Not at all, maybe a ten minute walk. Why?"

"Being the gentleman that I am," he began, making Clary giggle, "I thought it would be a good idea to walk you home."

"I would like that," she replied, smiling up at him.

"Well then, lead the way." Will said, and she did. The two of them walked in silence together for about a minute before Will spoke up again. "So, what do you do?"

Clary giggled a bit. "What?" He asked, confused but smiling with her.

"You don't know how to stay quiet, do you?" She said, grinning.

"Blame Jem, he left me all alone to go get married. Plus, I'm a detective, working alone is kind of a hobby of mine. So is reading. I don't think I've met a book that I don't like." There was a brief pause as Clary's laughter died down. "Anyways, we were supposed to be talking about you." He said.

"Well, I'm an artist. I teach at Alicante University, and occasionally get commissioned to paint for other people."

"That's it? I practically tell you my life story and all you're going to say is that you're an artist?" Will asked incredulously, although Clary could tell he was teasing.

"There's not much else to tell, if I'm being honest." Will snorted, making Clary laugh.

"What about that best friend that stopped talking to you? There has to be a story there." Clary fell silent, and the light-hearted mood changed. It was as if the weather changed with her mood, as she suddenly felt very cold, and shivered, her teeth beginning to chatter.

"You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. I didn't mean to pry." Will said apologetically while shrugging his jacket off to place it on Clary's shoulders.

"Thank you, you didn't have to do that." She said.

"How many times am I going to have to remind you that I strive to be a gentleman?" He teased. Clary smiled back at him.

"The story is honestly not that interesting." She started, hesitating ever so slightly. She decided that she liked Will, even after only knowing him for a few hours.

"Like I said, you are under no obligation to tell me anything."

"Well, it started a few days ago, when my best friend came home totally freaked out over something that he had said at work. I was super concerned, and managed to get him to tell me that he told his coworkers that he had a girlfriend." Will snorted again. "I thought it was pretty ridiculous too, but he was so upset because he said he was bringing her to this big company Christmas party they have every year. I reminded him that Christmas was a few months away, so it shouldn't be too difficult to get someone to go out with him. Then he told me that he was supposed to bring his 'girlfriend' to a dinner with the same coworkers on Friday night, and long story short, he asked me to fill in."

"Tell me you didn't" Will interrupted, his eyes wide.

"I had to!" Clary defended. "You would have too if you had seen him." Will shook his head, laughing. "Anyways," she continued, "we went to this dinner on Friday, and everything was fine, until he ignored me for the rest of the night when we went home, and then he kissed me, and has been ignoring me ever since. He even had the nerve to take someone on a date in _my_ coffee shop, of all places."

"You have your own coffee shop?" Will asked.

"What? Oh, no. It's not mine. Everyone just calls it mine because I practically lived there in college. I still go there most days, too." She clarified.

"Oh, okay. I get it."

"That's basically the end of the story. I saw him on that date today, and Izzy made me go out to Pandemonium, and then I met you." She finished.

"Well, your friend sounds like an ass." He said, and this time it was Clary's turn to snort, making Will grin.

"That's putting it a little mild, if I do say so myself."

"And you live with this guy?" He asked.

"Yep. Have for four years." She said, stopping in front of her building. "Speaking of which, this is my place."

"Then I suppose this is where I leave you." He said, smiling down at her.

"You don't live far, do you?" She asked, concerned that he would have to walk by himself in the dark.

"No, my building is actually right down there." He said, pointing at the building at the end of the street that Clary had passed millions of times.

"Thanks for walking me home." Clary said, looking up at him. She just now realized how close they were standing.

"Anytime." He said, leaning down.

Clary stood up on her tiptoes, bringing her face closer to his. Her eyes fluttered closed as he gently brushed his lips against hers before pulling back.

"Goodnight, Clary." He said, turning to walk away.

"Goodnight, Will." She replied before realizing that his jacket was still on her shoulders. "Wait! You forgot your jacket!" She called out, and he turned back.

"Keep it for now. I'll come back to get it later." He said before turning back around, smiling to himself.

Clary grinned, watching him walk away before making her way into the building. She opted for the elevator and stepped inside, pulling out her phone. She had a text from Izzy.

 _Clary, if I don't wake up tomorrow morning with a detailed text message about who that man was, you will regret it._ Clary laughed and typed back a quick reply.

 ** _Don't worry, I'll tell you everything tomorrow, meet me for coffee at 1:30?_** She sent the message right as the elevator dinged and the doors opened on her floor. She quietly walked down the hallway and opened her door. Once she was inside, she immediately noticed a pair of sparkly heels that were most definitely not hers. She shook it off, thinking that he couldn't possibly be that stupid. Walking down the hallway, Clary realized that she was wrong. Very wrong. The sounds coming from Jace's bedroom allowed her to make no mistake. She could hear a very girlish voice giggling, and was relieved she couldn't make out any of the words they were saying. Quickly making her way into her room, she shut the door as quietly as she could, managing to make it to her bed before she collapsed, exhausted, and hurt. She wasted no time putting on her pajamas and crawling under the covers, too tired to think about what Jace was doing next door. She fell asleep almost immediately, grateful that her door blocked out any sounds coming from across the hall.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again. Regarding this chapter, in all honesty I had no idea how this chapter was going to turn out, and I rewrote bits and pieces of it several times. This is the finished product, and I'm not so sure how I feel about it, so please review!**

It had been three days since Jace had kissed Clary. Three days of nothing said between the two, and it was frustrating Clary to the point of driving her out of her own apartment. The silence she normally cherished had become deafening, making it impossible for her to paint in her studio. She left early for her coffee date with Izzy, and was already sitting down at her usual table when she saw her best friend walk in. Izzy immediately spotted her and walked over excitedly.

"Okay, tell me everything." She said enthusiastically before Clary even had the chance to talk.

"Hello, Izzy, I'm doing just fine, you?" Clary replied sarcastically, standing up to walk over to the coffee counter to order with Izzy.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, Fray. That man was gorgeous, and you said you would tell me everything today in the text you sent last night." She recalled, turning away from Clary to place her order.

"There's really not that much to—" Clary stopped before she finished her sentence, afraid to continue based on the look Izzy was giving her. She pointedly ignored Izzy as she ordered her coffee. Turning back to her friend, she replied. "Fine, fine. His name is Will, he's a detective." Izzy glared, making Clary laugh. "Alright, I guess you want to know more," she paused, stepping forward to grab her coffee when her name was called and walking back to their table. "Let's see. Last night, we danced, he walked me home, and gave me his jacket when I got cold. I still have it. Oh, and we kissed." Izzy excitedly banged her hand on the table.

"Please tell me you got his number before he left." She said, and Clary winced. "Clarissa Fray, don't you dare tell me you forgot to get this man's number." Izzy said loudly, prompting a couple of heads to turn in their direction before going back to their own conversations.

"Well, I kind of did. But I have his jacket, and he said he'd come get it sometime. Only, now that I think about it, I'm not sure how he would be able to do that." Clary thought aloud, glancing at Izzy, who looked as if she might explode.

"You're only just now thinking about that?" She scoffed.

"Come on, Izzy. I had a lot on my mind, you know that. Plus, I'm not exactly good at this kind of thing." Izzy's face softened.

"Is Jace still being an ass?" She asked.

"Well, he did bring a girl home last night, so you tell me." Clary said, annoyed.

"Did he really?"

"Yeah. And do you want to know what the worst part it? Her shoes were sitting right next to his, by the door. Her coat was thrown over the back of the couch, too. You know how much of a neat freak he is. It was almost like he wanted me to see them, which just made it worse."

Izzy was quiet for a moment. "You said you still have this guy's jacket?"

"What? Oh, yeah, back at my apartment. Why?" Clary replied, momentarily confused by the abrupt subject change.

"Well, you said he's a detective, right? I'll bet you that he has some sort of business card in his jacket."

"Izzy, why on earth would he carry around a business card in his jacket?"

"They always carry them in the movies." Izzy blinked, taking a sip of her drink that was far too many words for Clary's taste. Clary only needed two words; Black coffee.

"Okay, but we don't live in a movie, Iz." Clary was looking at her friend like she had gone nuts, which wasn't all that uncommon.

"I know that, but there's still that chance, isn't there? I mean, they had to get the idea from somewhere." She said, and Clary had to admit that Izzy had a point. If anything, it was worth a shot.

"What exactly did you have in mind? I don't exactly want to go back home to see Jace with some girl draped around him like he was the last man on earth." Izzy shrugged, and got up.

"If he's there, then flaunt the jacket around like it's the only piece of clothing you own." She suggested, making Clary choke on her coffee.

"Not a chance, Iz." Clary coughed out, embarrassed. Izzy grinned.

"I'm just saying, it'll get him to shut up." She laughed, following Clary out of the coffee shop.

"Getting Jace to shut up isn't the problem right now. And sure, it'll work, but at what cost?" She inquired as they walked back to her apartment. "It would be one thing if Jace and I weren't so close, but he's been my best friend for years. I don't know what's going on, but I know it would suck if I lost him as a friend."

"You'd still have me, Simon, Magnus, and Alec." Izzy offered as she pulled open the door to her apartment building so the two could step inside.

Clary pressed the elevator button and glanced at her. "Do you really think that Alec, Jace's own brother, would side with me over him?"

"Honestly, after he found out what Jace did last night, he's been more than a little annoyed. All of us have been. He isn't acting like himself." The two stepped into the elevator and rode the way up to Clary's floor in silence.

"What I don't understand is how so much has changed in only two days." She said as the two walked down the hallway to her apartment. Clary stalled outside her door, fiddling with her keys. She took a deep breath and unlocked the door. She turned the knob, expecting the worst as the door swung open to reveal nothing. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Izzy seemed relieved too as she walked into the apartment. Both girls stopped at the sight of the sparkly heels sitting by the door, and the woman's jacket thrown over the back of the couch, exactly the way they had been when Clary had left that morning. She glanced over at Izzy, whose eyes had widened slightly at the sight of the offending objects.

"Wow. I wasn't aware Jace had that much nerve." Izzy snorted. Clary giggled, and soon both girls were laughing at the absurdity of the situation. If someone had walked in at that moment, both girls would have looked more than a little crazy. Soon their laughter turned into a few scattered giggles here and there as they caught their breath. They weren't bothering to be quiet as they walked into Clary's room, Izzy even made a point to close Clary's door with a little more force than was necessary.

"Okay, show me this jacket." Clary crossed the room to her desk chair where she had placed Will's jacket last night after she got home. She handed it to Izzy, who immediately went through the pockets, eventually fishing out a white business card.

"Aha! Found it." She grinned triumphantly, holding up the small card. Clary couldn't believe it.

"I can't believe that you actually found one." Clary said dumbfounded, reaching for the card.

"Movies don't lie, Clary. At least, they don't lie about hot detectives carrying around business cards." Izzy replied, snatching the card away from Clary's grasp.

"Come on, Izzy, give it." Izzy laughed

"William Hero- wait a minute, that can't be right." Izzy stopped, confused.

"What can't be right?" Clary asked, and Izzy passed her the card, and her eyes widened.

"William Herondale. Herondale, as in Jace Herondale. You have to be kidding me." Clary couldn't believe her eyes. Jace had never mentioned anything about another Herondale, ever. As far as she had been told, he was the only one after a tragic accident killed both of his parents. Jace was raised with Alec and Izzy, but he kept his last name.

"Well, are you going to text him?" Izzy asked, and Clary could only blink at her with wide eyes.

"Text him? Did you miss this whole last name connection thing?" She asked, incredulously.

"It's just a name, Clary." Izzy said, trying to be nonchalant, but Clary had known her for long enough to know that she was equally as curious as she was. Then again, she really did want to see Will again.

"Fine, I'll send him a text. You should call Alec. He might know something." Izzy nodded and pulled out her phone. Both girls paused at the sound of a door opening from across the hall. They remained quiet, listening for other sounds, and began talking again when they heard the front door open and close after a moment. "On second thought, now that Jace is gone, invite him over. Magnus too, and Simon. We can order in and try and figure this out." Clary suggested before pulling out her own phone to text Will. Or should she call him? She fiddled with her phone for a minute before deciding to text him. After all, it was the middle of the afternoon, and he could be at work. Even though it was a Sunday, she wasn't sure what his schedule was.

 _Hey, is this Will?_ She typed, sending the message immediately, not allowing herself any time to worry about what she should say. Her phone buzzed a moment later

 **Yes, who is this?** Was the reply.

 _It's Clary,_ she typed, before adding _from Pandemonium_.

 **Well hello, Clary from Pandemonium. Not that I'm upset, but how did you get my number? Unless I'm mistaken, I was an idiot and didn't think to get the number from the woman I spent most of my time there with. Either that, or I drank a lot more than I thought I did last night.** He said, and Clary smiled.

 _No, you didn't give me your number. I kind of found it on a business card you had in your jacket. My friend gave me the idea._

 **I'm certainly thankful for your friend's idea then. I kind of miss my jacket.** He replied. Clary was beginning to type out a response when her phone buzzed with another message from him. **Of course, I'd also like to see you again.** Clary blushed, thankful that Izzy was still on the phone with Alec, and was not paying attention to her at the moment.

 _Likewise_ , was her only response. After a minute, she received another text.

 **So, when would be a good time?** He asked.

 _I have to teach tomorrow, but I have a lunch break for an hour at 1 if that works?_ She sent the text, and bit her lip, waiting for his reply.

 **Sounds perfect. You work at Alicante, right?** She grinned, certain she was blushing.

 _Yep, have you ever been there before?_ She asked.

 **Yes, a couple of times. Where should I meet you?** Clary was suddenly aware of a presence lurking over her shoulder, and turned to see Izzy reading the message on her screen. Deciding to pretend her friend wasn't reading her conversation, Clary responded.

 _I work in the art building, if you ask for me someone will be able to show you my classroom. It's kind of hard to find._

 **It's a date. Just don't forget my jacket :)**

 _Trust me, I won't._ She turned off her phone after sending the last message, and turned to face a smiling Izzy.

"Oh, don't give me that look" she said, trying and failing not to grin. "Are the guys coming over?" She asked.

"Yeah, they're on their way now. Magnus and Alec should be here first, Simon had a couple of last minute things to do at work." Izzy said.

"Work? It's Sunday." Clary questioned as she hopped of the bed.

"Apparently Raphael had to have something done today. You know how he gets sometimes." She had a good point. Raphael never seemed to think about anything but work, and more often than not Simon was dragged into whatever piece Raphael was trying to put together. and the two walked out to wait for them in the living room. Five minutes later, the two were talking about Izzy's latest show when there was a knock at the door.

"That was fast." Izzy remarked as Clary got up to answer the door. Outside was a strange woman who was smiling brightly until she registered who was at the door. She looked slightly disappointed for a moment before plastering a smile onto her face.

"Oh, hi. You must be Jace's roommate. I'm Alyssa." The woman extended her hand out to Clary, who didn't take it. She glanced back at Izzy, who had come to stand behind Clary with a less than welcoming expression.

The girl's smile faded. "Okay, look. I'm just here because I left something in Jace's room when I left earlier, is it okay if I grab it real fast?" The girl made as if to step into the apartment but was stopped as Clary hadn't moved out of her way. After a moment, she let her arm fall to the side and stepped back, allowing the woman into the apartment. She looked relieved. "Thanks, I promise I'll just be a minute or two." She said, walking down the hallway into Jace's bedroom. Izzy and Clary had their heads turned away from the door so they were both startled by the sound of a new voice breaking the silence.

"You know, Alec. I think we might be a little late to the party. These two seem to be having too much fun on their own, don't you think?" Magnus's voice caused the two women to jump and turn towards the door, finding a smirking Magnus and a confused looking Alec.

"Magnus, what are you talking about? They're just standing there in silence, looking at, well, I don't know what they were looking at but..." He trailed off, his confusion forgotten as the room fell silent when Alyssa walked back out. True to her word, she had only taken a minute to return with a small clutch bag in her hands. "Found it. Thanks again." She said, nodding at Clary before walking out the door. Clary hadn't moved since she opened the door, so Izzy shut the door behind the stranger.

"Well, that was awkward." She said.

"Yeah, who was that?" Alec asked.

"Jace's latest conquest." Clary replied bitterly. Alec's features hardened at the mention of his brother, his lips forming a thin line.

"He's not here, is he?" He asked.

"No, which is a good thing considering Clary probably wants to have the first punch, and the look on your face right now says that you'd be willing to fight her for that." Izzy responded from the kitchen, where she was sitting on the counter holding a box of saltine crackers with a displeased look on her face. "Is this really all you have? Saltines?" She accused, looking at Clary.

"Don't blame me, I haven't been home long enough this weekend to go shopping." She defended. "Just order pizza or something."

"We had pizza last night."

"Okay, then order something from Jade Wolf, or from Taki's." Magnus perked up at that idea.

"Let's get Taki's, we haven't been there in ages." He suggested, and there was a mutual agreement. Soon after Izzy had called and placed their order, their food arrived, and now the group was settled in the living room.

"Okay, so not that I'm complaining, but why did you call the two of us over?" Alec asked, looking at his sister. "I'm guessing it wasn't just for lunch."

"Well, you guys saw that guy Clary was with last night, right?" Almost immediately, Alec sat up rigidly and looked at Clary.

"He didn't hurt you, did he?" He nearly growled. Clary smiled. Alec had always been a bit overprotective of her ever since she had walked into their lives, and she loved him for that.

"No, I'm fine. The night was great, actually. He walked me home and was a perfect gentleman, he even gave me his coat when I got cold." Clary had to stop telling her story when Magnus let out a squeak. She eyed him but said nothing. "Anyways, he gave me his coat, and I still have it because he left it with me last night. Izzy nearly hit me when I told her I hadn't gotten his number, until by some strange logic she suggested looking for a business card in his coat pockets." Alec looked confused. "He's a detective." She clarified. Magnus nodded, and Clary wondered if she was the only one who thought the entire notion was ridiculous. "So, we found his number on the card and I texted him and we're going for lunch tomorrow, but we called you over because his last name is Herondale, and we figured if anyone would know about his name, it would be you, Alec." She finished quickly before she could get interrupted again. As it turned out, she didn't need to worry about being interrupted because both Alec and Magnus had their mouths open in shock, and didn't look ready to form a coherent sentence.

"Are you sure, absolutely positive, that his last name is Herondale?" Instead of replying, Clary passed Will's business card to Alec. His eyes widened as he saw the name.

"So, do you know anything?" Izzy asked him.

"I wish. No, I thought Jace was the only Herondale. I mean, he was adopted into our family after he was orphaned. I'm not even sure he knows he has any blood relatives left." He paused for a minute, still processing the information. "I need to meet this guy, Clary."

"I just met him Alec, don't you think it'd be a little weird if the first thing I said to him was 'hey, you might be a long-lost relative of the guy who has been my best friend for 7 years and his older brother wants to meet you'?" Izzy snorted.

"Well, he'll probably find out eventually, won't he? And it would be even stranger if he opened the door to find me standing there explaining the exact same thing. At least he knows what you look like." Alec replied, and Clary opened her mouth to respond but found herself unable to find a good excuse. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Alec kind of had a point.

"I don't suppose I can persuade you to wait until I've had the chance to go on a proper date with him?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just call him and ask if he's busy." Clary looked at Izzy wide eyed.

"Now?"

"Yes, now. I can always call him for you if you want. But I don't think you would want that." Izzy smirked while Clary blushed.

"Clary, in all honesty, you didn't think you would be able to tell us this and not expect Alec to want to meet this man?" Magnus chimed in, wearing a smirk that matched Izzy's. "Just call him, darling. We won't bite."

Clary looked down at her phone, her fingers hovering over the call button next to Will's name. After a moment, she pressed the button and brought her phone to her ear, watching as all of her friends looked at her apprehensively as she waited for Will to pick up the phone.

 _"You're not calling to cancel our date, are you?"_ Clary couldn't help but smile.

"No, definitely not. I'm looking forward to lunch tomorrow. I called to ask you a question." She blushed and pretended to ignore the mischievous look Magnus was giving her.

 _"Well then, fire away."_

"This might be super forward, but unfortunately my friends are too nosy for their own good and want to meet you right away. Would you like to come over?" She asked, biting her lip.

 _"Sure."_ He replied.

"Really? Because if you're uncomfortable I totally understand."

Will chuckled _. "It's fine, Clary. I'm new to the area and now that Jem and Tessa are engaged I can't really hang out with them without being a third wheel. It'd be nice to meet some new people."_

"Okay, do you remember my building?"

 _"Yeah, it's not exactly that far. What's the apartment number_?" Clary gave him her address. _"Great, I'll be there soon."_ He said, before hanging up the phone.

"He's on his way." Clary said, looking down at her phone, and then at her outfit. She was dressed in jeans and one of Simon's old T-shirts she had stolen from him ages ago. As if sensing her distress, Izzy smiled.

"You look fine, Fray. Besides, were you really going to dress up for class tomorrow?" Clary gave her a doubtful look. "I know he saw you all dressed up last night, thanks to me, but that's not you." Magnus nodded in agreement.

"You don't need to be nervous, Clary. Besides, there's not enough time to get you all dolled up." Magnus replied as there was a knock at the door.

Clary crossed the room and took a deep breath before she opened the door. Will was standing on the other side and he grinned at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Well, I was pretty drunk last night, and in my haze, I remembered you being pretty. Now that I'm sober, I realize I was mistaken." He paused long enough for the room to become tense before he continued. "You're gorgeous, Clary." Clary was sure her face had turned as red as her hair.

"Damn." Magnus spoke up from behind her, drawing their attention to him. He was looking at Alec. "How come you're never that romantic?" He asked jokingly. Alec simply huffed.

"Clary, let him in." He said, and Clary stepped aside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi, I'm back! This chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I liked how it turned out. I have another chapter that's nearly halfway done, and I'll try to get it posted sometime this month. Again, thanks for all the reviews! They really make my day.**

"Okay, so I guess it's time for introductions. That's Izzy, her older brother Alec, and Alec's boyfriend Magnus." She explained to Will before turning to the others. "Guys, this is Will."

It didn't take long for Will to become comfortable in their little group. After about fifteen minutes of small talk, Izzy dragged Clary into the kitchen, where she proceeded to punch Clary in the shoulder.

"Ow! What was that for?" Clary asked, rubbing the spot Izzy had hit her.

"What was it for? Oh, I don't know, it could have something to do with the fact that you never mentioned how Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome is British." Izzy crossed her arms and gave Clary a stern look.

"That's because he isn't British. I guess it slipped my mind? Besides, what does it matter anyway?" Judging by the look Izzy had on her face, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Clary, it is scientifically proven that men with British accents are 40% more attractive than other men."

"I'm pretty sure it's also 100% proven that you just made that up." Clary fired back. Izzy huffed.

"Fine, maybe I did. But that's still no excuse, you should've told me." She pouted.

"It didn't seem important at the time. Plus, it's only been a day. We should probably get back out there before Alec tries to interrogate Will." She finished, leading a disgruntled Izzy back to the living room. The two found the guys sitting almost exactly how they had left them five minutes ago. The only difference was that now Alec seemed to be biting his tongue to prevent himself from talking. Clary sighed.

"Go ahead, Alec." She said. He let out a breath and turned to Will, who looked mildly concerned.

"Should I be nervous about this?" Will asked, directing the question at no one in particular.

"Is your last name really Herondale?" Alec spit out, and Will looked confused.

"Uh, yeah. Has been for 25 years now. Why do you ask?" If the question offended him, he had a spectacular way of hiding it. If anything, he looked a little relieved.

"My brother's last name is Herondale." Alec said.

Will looked at Clary, obviously confused. "I'm pretty sure you told me Izzy's last name is Lightwood."

"Alec and Izzy are siblings; Jace Herondale is their adopted brother," She explained.

"Okay, makes sense." He paused for a moment, looking around the room. "Not to seem rude, but why are you all staring at me like I'm some strange figment of your combined imaginations?" Alec looked stunned.

"Herondale isn't exactly a common name." He explained, and Will's look of confusion was replaced with one of understanding.

"I guess it wouldn't be here, would it?" He chuckled.

"What do you mean, here?" Izzy asked.

"My parents are from Wales, I grew up in London and decided to move to the states when I was 18. Herondale was a pretty popular name back home, so I've never thought of it as uncommon." He explained.

"So, you don't think there's some connection between you and Jace?" Clary wondered aloud.

"Honestly, I don't know. There might be?" He suggested. "My family kind of cut off ties with the rest of the Herondales when they moved London, and I haven't spoken to any of them for seven years." He said grimly, before adding "right now, your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, at least we learned that Jace is part Welsh. Maybe." Magnus said, turning to Clary. "Are you going to tell him this particularly exciting bit of information?" He drawled.

"I would, if he talked to me. Or, you know, if he hadn't been making a show of the girls he has been with this weekend." She replied uninterested.

"Is Jace the guy you told me about last night?" Will asked. Clary nodded.

"What do you mean, 'he's been making a show of it'?" Alec asked, crossing his arms.

When Clary didn't answer, Izzy explained for her. "When Clary and I got here today, Jace was still here. His new 'friend' was with him, and her stuff was all over the room." Alec stiffened, his eyes narrowing.

"It was like he left it there for me to see it." Clary added. Alec put his arm over her shoulders and pulled her into his side for a quick hug.

"I'm sorry Clary. I wish I knew what was going on inside his head, because as long as I've known him, Jace has never been this much of an idiot." He paused as Izzy scoffed. "Think about it Iz," He started, turning to his sister, "he's done some stupid stuff, but I don't think he's ever been dumb enough to mess up this badly." Izzy nodded.

"That's true. He might act like an ass most of the time, but he's never gone this far. Especially in such a short time."

"What do you mean, such a short time. How long has this been going on?" Will asked curiously.

"Well, Jace kissed me after we went to dinner Friday night, and he hasn't talked to me since then. Also, I'm pretty sure that he's been with more than one girl, since he has had no trouble parading them around the apartment." She finished with a grimace.

"You should also add how Jace being silent is a rarity." Magnus added, and Clary snorted, biting her lip to keep from laughing too hard.

"Sounds like he's a bit of an ass." Will remarked, and Clary couldn't hold it back this time; she burst into laughter. Will grinned at her, clearly pleased at the reaction she had caused. Neither one of them caught the telling look Alec gave Magnus as he withdrew his arm from Clary's shoulders and stood up from the couch.

"Well, as much as we would love to stay longer, Alec and I have some…business to attend to." Magnus stated, grinning cheekily as he dodged a blushing Alec's attempt to hit his arm.

"You're leaving already?" Clary asked.

"Already? Red, it's nearly seven o'clock." Alec said.

"It is? I guess I should be getting home too." Izzy piped up, catching on with a not-so-subtle look aimed at Clary that said, 'you better tell me everything later.'

"So, you're all going to leave?" Clary asked, not intending to sound as needy as she had. Truth be told, she really didn't want to be home alone when Jace returned. If he returned.

Before anyone else could respond, Will spoke up. "Not all of us, I don't have anywhere to be tomorrow, so I can stay as long as you'd like." He grinned at Clary, who blushed in response.

"Excellent, then it's settled. Will can stay with Clary, and the rest of us can go home." Magnus said, quickly ushering the others out of the apartment without another word.

"So, what should we do?" Will asked.

"I'd say we could go out, but I have a class tomorrow morning. Would you be okay with ordering in?" She offered.

"Sure, what sounds good?"

"Chinese?" She questioned, digging out Jade Wolf's menu to hand to Will.

"Got it, you know what you want?" He asked after looking over the menu for a minute or two. She nodded and gave him her order. He called the restaurant and placed their order before hanging up the phone. "Food should be here in less than 30 minutes."

"Perfect. Do you want to start a movie now or wait until the food gets here?" Clary asked.

"Let's wait."

"Okay, what do you want to do until then?"

He smiled. "I was actually curious if you have a studio, you said you were an artist last night, didn't you?"

"Yes, I have a studio, it's in the back." She replied, letting the two of them sit in awkward silence for a moment or two before realization struck her. "Oh. You probably were asking to see it, huh." She said dumbly.

He chuckled. "Yes, that was the idea. Unless you aren't comfortable with that, because I would totally understand." She smiled.

"I'm fine with it. Follow me." She led the way down the hall before she entered her studio at the back of the apartment. Will fell silent as he took in the room around him. Clary stood back and let him take it all in. The room was pretty much covered in her artwork. Everything from paintings, to sketches, to the one lonely wall she and Izzy had splattered with paint in a fit of rage after Izzy had learned that Simon had been seeing another girl at the beginning of their relationship. As it turned out, poor Simon had no idea what he had been doing, and Izzy had since forgiven him. Clary watched as Will looked around the room, smiling softly at his curiosity. It had been a while since she had introduced anyone new to her studio; Alec and Magnus had been the last two to see it for the first time, and that was nearly two years ago. Of course, everyone had seen it since then, especially Magnus and Izzy when they were collaborating on a project for Idris fashions.

"I wish I had something else to say besides wow, but I'm a little speechless right now." Will's voice pulled Clary back to the present. She laughed.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." Will shook his head.

"It's not just that. Your work is incredible, Clary. I—" He trailed off, not having the words to continue, and looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry. You probably hear this all the time." He chuckled.

"Not really, honestly. The only people who have been in here recently are Izzy and Magnus, and they've already seen most of this before, I think they're probably used to it by now." She replied, and the two fell into silence once again.

"What's this one?" He asked, pointing to Clary's latest project, which was the artwork Sebastian had requested.

"That's my newest piece, I was commissioned to paint it by a coworker I met at the dinner the other night." She explained.

"I was going to say that it didn't seem to fit in with the rest of the room." Will had a point. The floral piece did look out of place when they were surrounded by a lot of abstract paintings, including a series of various symbols she had named _Runes_ , which kind of resembled a modern hieroglyphic language, if she had to compare it to anything. Although they were particularly strange, the first symbol she had painted for the _Runes_ series, titled _Angelic,_ had inspired her so much, she had a small tattoo of it on the inside of her right wrist. She watched as Will looked over the _Angelic_ rune, then back to Clary's arm which was resting at her side. He looked like he was about to say something before a knock sounded at the front door that shook them both out of the silence that had once again fallen over the room.

"I hope that's the food, because if it's another bimbo here to collect something she forgot…" Clary didn't continue her sentence, instead choosing to walk out of her studio with Will chuckling behind her. She opened the door to find that it was indeed the food. Will insisted on paying, despite her many protests, and soon the two of them were seated on the couch watching _The Princess Bride_ after Clary had found out that Will had never seen it, and was appalled as it was her favorite movie. They watched in companionable silence, gradually shifting closer to each other, until Clary pulled her feet up onto the couch and leaned against Will's shoulder, which he responded to by wrapping an arm around her and pulling her even closer. They were nearly finished with the movie when Will spoke up.

"Clary…"

"Shush, this is one of the best parts." She stopped him, and she was pretty sure she could feel him rolling his eyes before he tried again.

"Clary, ca—" This time she looked up at him.

"What could possibly be so important that you had to interrupt my favorite mov—" Will cut her off with a kiss.

"I was going to ask you if I could kiss you." He whispered against her lips.

"As you wish," she quoted before he kissed her again. They stayed like that for a minute or two when Clary became uncomfortable with the position and shifted so she was nearly laying on top of Will, who adjusted accordingly. Both were so absorbed by the kiss that neither one of them noticed the front door being unlocked, and were finally interrupted by the sound of the front door closing loudly. Clary broke away from the kiss to find Jace standing frozen in the doorway. The two of them made eye contact for a moment before he closed the door behind him and nearly ran to his room, slamming his bedroom door in the process. Looking to her left at the television screen, she saw the credits rolling. Will seemed to have noticed this as well.

"I think that's my clue to leave." Will said, and Clary looked up at him.

"You don't have to, you're welcome to stay." She replied, and he grinned.

"Any other time, I would take you up on that offer. However, it's nearly eleven, and I know you have classes to teach tomorrow." Clary glanced at the clock, shocked to find that it read 10:56 PM. She got up off the couch and walked Will to the front door.

"I'll see you for lunch. Have a good night, Clary." He walked out the door before spinning back on his heel and kissing her again. She smiled.

"Good night, Will." He grinned at her before walking down the hallway. She watched as he got on the elevator, and after a final wave, she shut the door.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! First, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I feel the need to remind you all that there will still be some slow updates in the future. I have two weeks before the next term starts, and I'm going to at least get started on the next chapter while I have the time. This story has gotten more follows, favorites, and reviews than I could have hoped for when I came up with this idea in the first place, and I could not be more thankful to all of you.**

The next morning, Clary was startled awake by a loud crash followed by a slew of curse words shouted by her elusive roommate.

"What the—" She said before glancing at the clock sitting on her bedside table, which read 5:17 AM. Groaning, she rolled onto her stomach and covered her head with a pillow, attempting to block out the noise. She sighed happily, reveling in the moments of silence when another crash sounded from the kitchen. She reluctantly got out of bed to investigate what Jace was doing in the kitchen.

"I swear, if I walk in here and find him with some other blonde chick I'm going to kick him out." She grumbled to herself as she opened the door. In the kitchen was a disheveled looking Jace who appeared to be trying to make breakfast, with his back to her and his head ducked down underneath the kitchen cabinets.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked. Jace whipped his head up and smacked it on the underside of the cabinet. He cursed before turning around and bringing his hand up to rub his head. His mismatched eyes stared Clary down.

"I was, uh, making breakfast." He stammered, his face flushing. The kitchen was a mess, and Clary smirked despite her attempts to keep a straight face.

"Interesting. I see you were planning on making eggs, mashed potatoes, and… is that a box of cake mix?" She lunged across the counter to find that it was indeed a box of cake mix, and turned back to find her roommate had become completely red in the face. He opened his mouth like he was about to say something and shut it quickly, wincing as his teeth clacked together. Instead of waiting for him to respond, Clary turned on the coffee maker and went back to her room to get ready for the day.

Thirty minutes later, Clary walked back out to the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee, and was stunned to see that Jace was still there. This morning had been the most she had seen of him over the weekend. She was even more surprised when he began to talk to her.

"Hey, so about last weekend." He began, not giving Clary the chance to pour her coffee, as she had frozen in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Yes?" She prompted him when he didn't continue.

"Just, maybe we need to develop a way to tell each other if we are going to have… company over." He drawled out hesitantly, which only confused Clary. Jace seemed to notice this so he clarified. "You know, just in case you decide to make out with a stranger on our couch again."

"Excuse me?" Clary asked, not sure if he said exactly what she heard.

"Do I really have to spell this out for you? I want something to put on our door, like a sock or something, so I don't have to come into my own home and find you slobbering over some guy on our couch."

Clary was stunned speechless, but not for very long as she didn't have to think very hard about what she wanted to say. "Are you kidding me? This weekend was hell for me, Jace. Did you know that? I finally understand why people have said that silence can be loud. Not being able to talk to you this weekend was miserable, and it wasn't even my fault. You kissed me, and somehow that was too damn difficult for you to comprehend in your tiny brain, so you paraded girl after girl around our apartment, not to mention that date you took to my coffee shop, all so you could feel better about yourself and what you did." Clary's voice had risen during her rant, and when she finished, Jace just stood there. "You know what? I don't have time for this. I need to get to class." She turned around on her heel and stomped out the door, only pausing to grab her coat and make sure her keys were in her pocket before she left and slammed the door behind her.

That morning, Clary had a hard time staying focused during her classes while she fumed about her roommate. She gave each class their assignment and told them she would be at the front of the class if they had any questions or needed any help. Several students stayed late to ask her questions, and by the time lunch rolled around, she was ready to snap. Her last student finally left, and the silence that came with her empty classroom was welcoming. Clary began cleaning up the brushes and paints that were left out from her last class when there was yet another knock on her door. "What is it?" She groaned, not bothering to turn around to see who had walked in.

"Bad day?" A deep voice asked, and Clary turned around to find Will standing in the doorway. She realized then that she had completely forgot about their lunch date, and was relieved to see a friendly face.

"Something like that." She said, crossing the room, and walking out the door.

"That bad, huh? What could have possibly happened since I last saw you? I left-" He paused, glancing at his watch "-fourteen hours ago."

"It doesn't help that I have to live with the guy who somehow turned a situation he created into this huge confusing mess of emotions that I don't even know how to sort out myself." She huffed.

"In my experience, taking a lunch break is usually a helpful distraction." Will said, offering his arm to her after she finished locking the door to the classroom. "Of course, if you want to talk about it, I'm all ears." Clary was silent until the two of them had walked out of the building.

"Jace talked to me this morning." Will glanced down, surprised.

"Isn't that a good thing? I thought you were upset because he was ignoring you." There was a brief pause in conversation as both got into Will's car.

"Normally, it would be a good thing. However, it seemed the only reason he wanted to talk was because he was uncomfortable with coming home and finding the two of us on the couch." She spit out.

"You're kidding. He had the nerve to say that to you after the girls he has paraded around your apartment?" Clary could only nod in response.

"Wow. I normally don't like to draw conclusions about people before I meet them, but this guy sounds like an asshole."

"You're not wrong." Clary said with a small grin.

"Why do you even put up with him?" Will asked.

"He's been my best friend for seven years, and we have lived together for so long now it's hard to imagine what my life would be like if that were to stop." Clary paused, letting her words sink in. "Anyways, let's change the subject to something a little more upbeat."

"Actually, I'd prefer if we stuck to this topic. You seem really upset about it, and I'd like to help."

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Will. Call me crazy, but I don't exactly think that talking about my unresolved feelings for a guy while out on a date with another guy is a great topic of conversation."

Will smiled. "That's exactly why we should talk about it then." Clary glanced at him, confused. "Clary, I'm not going to be upset if you haven't figured things out with Jace, nor if you decide to break whatever we have off to figure them out." She glanced at him suspiciously, and he chuckled. "We have been out a grand total of three times, and while those dates were lovely, I promise I will not be offended if you want to just be friends." They stopped walking as Clary hugged Will.

"Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me." She said after letting him go.

"So, just friends then?"

Clary nodded. "Don't think this means you're getting out of lunch though" She teased.

"Wouldn't dream of it." He smiled. The rest of their lunch went smoothly, and classes resumed as normal when she got back to campus. Time flew by, and before she knew it, she was packing up her things.

"Knock knock."

Clary jumped out of her seat and nearly fell over, startled by the sudden interruption. Looking up, she saw Sebastian standing over her desk.

"Don't do that again." She said, and Sebastian laughed.

"Sorry about that, but in my defense, it is way too easy to scare you." Clary rolled her eyes and tried not to grin, ultimately failing, and returning his smile.

"So, what brings you by?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I was hoping to pick up that painting, you said you would have it today, right?"

"Shit." Sebastian laughed.

"I'll take that as a no, then?"

"I am so sorry, Sebastian. This morning, I was in a rush to leave. I forgot it at home." Clary admitted sheepishly.

"It's really no problem. Tomorrow, then?" He asked.

"You could come by and get it now, if you like. That way you don't have to carry it around campus tomorrow, and I have less of a chance of forgetting it again."

"Sounds good to me. Are you done for the day?"

"Yes, I was just about to head out the door when you came in." She said.

"Perfect. I'll walk you out." Unlike Will, Sebastian did not offer Clary his arm, not that she minded. The two walked in companionable silence, and it was agreed that instead of taking Clary's car, Sebastian would follow her in his own to her apartment. Soon, the two of them were walking into Clary's home.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Clary announced grandly as she swung the door open. Sebastian chuckled as he walked in. "My studio is down this way." Clary made sure Sebastian was following her and led the way to the back of the apartment, letting him into the studio. His painting was in the center of the room, and his eyes were immediately drawn to it.

"Wow. I wish I had something else to say, but this is perfect, Clary." Clary grinned at his praise, and stepped closer to grab the painting and hand it to him. They walked back down the hallway, and Clary was surprised to see Sebastian hesitate before reaching for the door handle. He turned back to her, looking like he wanted to say something. He stood there for a moment with his mouth open before she couldn't handle it anymore.

"What is it, Sebastian? Or are you just standing there like that because that's your normal face?" She teased. He was starting to make her nervous. There was another moment of awkward silence before he spoke.

"I, uh, I was wondering, well, ifIcouldhaveRaphaelsnumber." He stammered.

"You want Raphael's number? I thought you were dating Kaelie." Clary asked, surprised.

"What? No, she's not even close to my type. I just, I had a good time the other night with Raphael but I think I may have made him a little uncomfortable and I wanted to get his number so I could apologize." Now that Clary thought about it, Sebastian had disappeared at Pandemonium around the same time Raphael had.

"Makes sense to me. Hang on a second." She said, pulling out her phone to search her contacts. When she finally found the number, she looked up to find Sebastian staring at her with a look of curiosity.

"What is it now?" She asked again, still teasing him.

"You didn't freak out. You didn't even flinch." He said.

"Didn't freak out about what?"

"About me being gay." Sebastian stated bluntly.

Realization washed over Clary. "Oh. I guess I didn't."

"Any reason why?"

"My best friend's brother is gay, and he and his boyfriend are two of the best people I know. Love is love, plain and simple. Although it did surprise me a little to have you ask me for Raphael's number. Then again, I don't really know all that much about him." Clary reached out for Sebastian's phone to put in Raphael's number when the front door unlocked and Jace walked in.

"What the hell are you doing in my home?" He addressed Sebastian coolly, standing frozen in the doorway.

"He's here because I invited him. After all, this is _our_ home. And as much as you might try to pretend I don't exist, I'm still here, Jace. Get over yourself." Clary interjected before Sebastian could say anything. Glaring at the two of them furiously, Jace walked to his room and slammed the door.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." Sebastian said, picking up his painting and moving to the door.

"Sorry about that. I wish I had an excuse for his behavior, but I don't really need one, do I?" Sebastian chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I hope he sorts out whatever is bothering him soon. Thanks again for the painting, and for the number." He said, before walking out and shutting the door behind him.

"You gave that asshole your number?" Jace asked. Clary whirled around, fury igniting in her.

"What's it to you if I did? You haven't talked to me in days, you've been parading countless bimbos around the apartment, knowing I would see them, and you have the nerve to ask me about my personal life? What the hell is your problem?"

"My problem is that that guy is an asshole and you'd be far better off with m—" Jace cut off his sentence abruptly and turned to back to his room mid-sentence. He would have succeeded if Clary hadn't sprinted to get in front of him and block his door.

"Far better off with who?" She asked.

"Forget it, Clary. You're an adult, you can make your own decisions. Even if that decision is something as stupid as giving your number to someone like Sebastian." Jace said, trying to get past Clary again.

"Nope, not this time, Herondale. First, you're going to tell me what you were about to say, and then I'll move aside." She stated firmly.

"Why does it even matter, Clary? You're obviously happy with Sebasti—"

"Sebastian's gay, Jace. He didn't ask for my number, he asked for Raphael's." Jace's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"He's gay? Then what the hell was he doing here?"

"He commissioned me to paint something for him, and he was just picking it up because I forgot to grab it on my way out this morning." Jace winced at the reminder of his behavior.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I don't know what I was thinking."

"Apology accepted. Now, who do you think I'd be better off with?" Jace frowned.

"Just leave it alone, Fray. Now move." Jace tried to get past her once more, only to be stopped. He sighed. "Why do you even care?"

Clary moved closer to him, her heart racing. "I care, because for a second there it sounded like you were going to say that I would be better off with you." Jace flushed, but refused to say anything.

"Is that what you were going to say, Jace? That I'd be better off with you instead of Sebastian?" She prompted him again, moving so they were almost touching.

"Maybe I said something like that. But what does it matter? It's not like you and I—" Jace's rant was cut off by Clary when she stood up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to Jace's lips. When she broke away and slowly lowered herself back to the ground, Jace followed her to capture her lips in another kiss. What started out slow became heated, and soon the two were battling for dominance in the kiss. Jace lifted Clary up, giving her the leverage she needed to win the battle. She wrapped her legs around his hips and he swung them around so her back was against the door to his room. He fumbled around for a minute before managing to twist the door knob open, stumbling as the door swung open suddenly. Clary giggled while Jace regained his footing, the sound only stopped when Jace's lips were on hers again. Before Jace could walk them to the bed, Clary kicked her foot out towards the door, effectively shutting out the rest of the world and ensuring them that they wouldn't be bothered until the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

**I am super excited to say that this fic has hit over 100 reviews! You guys are so amazing. In celebration, I give you the next chapter. First, to answer some of the questions I have received. This is a Clace story, I promise you that. Everyone who asked for no Sebastian drama, you kind of got your wish? As for the jealousy between him and Jace, well, you'll find out later. Finally, sorry for the delay in posting! I had to deal with finals and spring semester starts soon so I haven't had any time for writing, although I may have an idea for a new story, but more on that later.**

 _Two weeks later_

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Jace was sitting in front of where Izzy and Clary were playing dress up, much to Izzy's delight.

Clary snickered and glanced at Izzy, who was in the process of selecting yet another dress for her to try on. Normally, Clary would be protesting as much, if not more, than Jace was, but she considered this to be payback for the three day long silent treatment he had given her. And, to be honest, she was having more fun than she thought she would. It helped that Izzy had immediately taken her to Idris fashions, trusting her own dresses more than the ones she could find in a department store.

"You're the one who roped Clary into going with you to this dumb _black-tie_ event. Did you really think you were going to get out of going?" Izzy had tugged another dress off the rack she had nearby, and Clary laughed at their banter while she was pushed back into the fitting room with the new dress in hand.

"She has a point, Jace," Clary said through the fitting room door. "Besides, this was a part of the agreement we made when this all started."

"In my defense, I already apologized, repeatedly," He smirked before continuing, "And in as many different ways as I could." Clary flushed, thankful for the door that was separating her from the other two.

"Jace, stop being gross. We all know how many times you have _apologized_ to Clary, and, as your sister, I would kindly ask you to refrain from the details." It was at this moment that Clary had finally managed to get the dress over her head and stepped out to show Izzy. Jace snickered and dodged Izzy's attempt to hit her shoulder. Clary grimaced.

"That bad, huh?" She turned around to look in the mirror and almost laughed herself. The dress Izzy had her try on was bright blue, and while normally that was an okay color on her, it was too much for a floor length gown.

"Uh, next please, Izzy." Always a step ahead, Izzy shoved another dress into Clary's hands. This one was red, and she could tell it wasn't going to work based on the fact that she couldn't figure out how to put the damn thing on. She had to call Izzy to help her, and she giggled as she stepped into the fitting room with Clary. After a minute or two of getting her untangled from her previous attempt, Izzy pushed the dress over her head. Clary stepped out and saw Jace's jaw drop, giving her a spark of hope that this could be the one. Her hope flickered out when she turned to gaze at the dress and then back to Jace.

"Perv," She said, and he laughed. The umpteenth dress Clary had tried on today was skin-tight, and had a very generous slit up the side, not to mention the plunging neckline or the fact that the dress had almost no back to it. Clary didn't even have to say anything to Izzy, she just glared at her until the other woman had grabbed yet another dress off the rack and handed it to her. Clary almost whined and was about to complain before Izzy stopped her.

"Last one, Clary. I promise."

When she stepped back into the fitting room, Clary noticed that the dress in her arms was very close to the color of the other dress she had modeled for Izzy. She quickly slipped it on and walked out of the room. Almost instantly, the banter that had been going on between Jace and Izzy died down, and Izzy's smile was enough to encourage Clary to look in the mirror. The dress was beautiful. It was simpler than the other dresses she had tried on and was similar in color to the deep purple dress she had worn to the dinner with Jace. The dress itself was a one-shoulder gown that hugged her curves, and made her look taller than she was, despite the fact that the material touched the ground as she stood there.

"That's the one," Izzy said, breaking the silence as Clary turned away from the mirror to face them. Jace nodded.

"I agree. You look gorgeous, Fray." Clary blushed and turned back to the mirror, admiring the dress once more before Izzy ushered her back into the fitting room so she could get the dress ready to take home.

It wasn't long before the three of them were back in Clary and Jace's apartment. After Izzy had left, mumbling something about having to find Simon, both Jace and Clary decided to watch a movie and settled in on the couch, although they weren't paying much attention to the television after Jace had leaned over and kissed her. She had migrated to sitting on his lap when Clary's cellphone interrupted them.

"You've got to be kidding me," Clary said, pulling back from Jace to reach for her phone, answering it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" She answered, her eyebrows scrunching together as she tried to understand the frantic person on the other end of the line. Finally, she pulled her phone from her ear to find out that Alec was the one who had called.

"Alec, whoa, you need to slow down. What's going on?" She asked, locking eyes with Jace, who looked concerned.

" _Have you seen Magnus? I haven't been able to get a hold of him all day, and I'm worried about him. He was pissed when he left, Clary."_

"What happened?" She asked, scooting off Jace's lap.

" _I don't even know, he walked in and saw me and Lydia and then just stormed out."_ He trailed off before he could finish.

"That doesn't make any sense. Alec, why don't you just come over. You can explain everything in person, okay?" All she got was a mumbled "thank you" before Alec hung up.

"What was that about?" Jace asked.

Before Clary could reply, there was a knock at the door. She glanced at the door, puzzled. There was no way Alec could have gotten there that fast, his apartment was at least a fifteen minutes' drive. She pulled the door open to find Magnus, who looked just as miserable as Alec had sounded over the phone. She threw the door open and moved to let him inside.

"Sorry, I know I should have called before coming over, but I was close by and I really didn't know where else to go." Magnus let out a sob, and Clary nodded in understanding, leading him to the couch so he could sit down.

"What happened, Magnus?" Clary asked.

"This morning, I opened the door and walked in to find Alec cuddled up with some blonde chick on our couch. It wasn't a friendly cuddle, Clary," Magnus cut her off before she could intervene. "It was clear that they knew each other, and it sure as hell looked like they were more than friends." Now it was Clary's turn to be confused.

"Magnus," she began, hesitantly, but he cut her off again.

"I know what I saw, and it was clear there was more than 'friendship' between them. Alec tried to explain before I left, but my vision went red. We've been together for two and a half years, and I thought I meant more to him than that, but I guess I was wrong." Magnus finished, choking back yet another sob when Clary abruptly slapped him in the face. He brought his hand to his cheek, shocked as he looked down at the fiery redhead.

"That is the dumbest shit I have ever heard you say, Magnus Bane." Clary was livid as she rose to stand in front of him. "You think he doesn't care about you? Alec, for as long as I've known him, has cared about one thing more than anything else, and that's _you_ , Magnus. After everything you have been through, he has been right there by your side, and you think he doesn't care?" Clary's voice had risen in volume, and Magnus tried to intervene, but Clary wasn't finished yet. "The woman you saw with him was Lydia, his best friend from high school. They haven't talked in about three years because life got in the way, but he's been meeting her over the past week to talk about wed—" Clary clamped a hand over her own mouth, grateful that she had stopped herself before she got too far.

"To talk about what?"

"To talk about wedding plans." Magnus whipped his head around to find Alec, who was walking to stand in front of him.

"For whose wedding?" Magnus asked, and Jace chuckled lightly from where he and Clary had moved across the room.

"Well, for ours. I was planning on asking you tonight at dinner, but..." Magnus's eyes widened as Alec fumbled around in his jacket pocket until he pulled out a ring. He slowly got down on one knee in front of Magnus, who was still sitting on the couch. "Magnus Bane, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Magnus replied, crying, and smiling while Alec's face lit up and the two of them kissed. It was simpler than how Alec had originally planned it with Clary, but it was perfect. She leaned into Jace, who had wrapped an arm around her.

"This calls for a celebration," Jace said. "Unless, of course, you wanted to stick to your boring couple's dinner instead of hanging out with your amazing friends." He chuckled as Alec flipped him off, settling into the couch with his arm wrapped around his fiancé.

"I guess we could stick around to celebrate," Alec replied.

"Good, because Simon and Izzy are already on their way over," Clary grinned.

The rest of the night had been fantastic, and Clary sighed contentedly after everyone had left, leaving her and Jace to themselves once again. They were curled up on the couch, watching one of the many crime shows on television. Clary had almost dozed off when Jace spoke up.

"Clary," he said softly, and she twisted in his embrace to look at him. "I don't want you to be my fake date to the Christmas party anymore."

Clary giggled. "You had better still want to go with me though, I picked out a pretty fantastic dress." Jace playfully shook his head.

"Well of course, I wouldn't dream of letting that dress go to waste," He hesitated before continuing, "I was just hoping you'd agree to be my real date. I mean, I know we haven't really had the official "talk" or anything yet, but I like what this," he gestured between the two of them "is, and I think you do too."

Still smiling, Clary clasped his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together. "I like what this has become too, and of course I'll be your real date." She watched as Jace's face split into a grin.

"Are you sure? We don't have to rush to label anything if you aren't ready for it, I don't want you to feel like I'm pushing yo—" Clary cut him off by pressing her lips to his in a chaste kiss, pulling back to meet his gaze with her own.

"I'm sure, Jace. In fact, I'm positive. Now shut up and cuddle with me so we can finish this horrible show and go to bed." She could feel Jace's laugh against her back as she turned back around to face the TV. Clary's honestly not sure when she fell asleep, but when she woke up Jace was carrying her to bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck when he tried to lay her down, effectively dragging him down with her.

"Stay?" She could tell that just the one word had made his face light up as he quickly nodded and slid under the covers with her, pulling her flush against him. Clary decided that she had never felt so warm in her life, and quickly drifted back to sleep in Jace's arms.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm baaaaaaaccccccckkkkkkk.  
**  
Saturday, December 22, 2018

"I swear Izzy, if you try to put any more makeup on me I won't be able to recognize myself." Clary sighed, grimacing when Izzy held her chin just a little tighter to keep her head in place.

"It's really not that much makeup, Clary. I don't know why you even bother complaining when you know it's not going to do you any good." Magnus piped up from across the room, already having finished styling Clary's hair into a gorgeous up-do. The aforementioned man was already dressed for the event, wearing a Christmas-red suit with a white shirt and a black bow-tie. His hair was styled up, with what he called "just a touch of glitter." Silently Clary wondered whether he had managed to put glitter in Alec's hair this time as well

"Done." Izzy's voice brought Clary out of her thoughts.

"Really? Yes!" Clary exclaimed, standing up immediately to stretch her legs. She smiled as she caught a glimpse of herself in the full-length mirror that was hanging on the back of her door. Turning around, she gave Izzy a hug. "Thanks, Iz. You've done it again." Izzy smiled, and was about to respond when they were startled by someone banging on the door.

"Izzy, if you keep Clary in there any longer we are going to be late." Alec said, stumbling as the door he was leaning on opened, making Clary and Izzy giggle. When he straightened out, Clary noticed that he was wearing a white suit, a black shirt, and a red tie, and grinned when she saw the obvious color coordination of the engaged couple. Alec caught her expression and blushed, linking his and Magnus's hands together.

"Are you finally ready?" Jace asked, walking down the hallway. He stopped short when he saw Clary, his jaw dropped open just like it had when he saw her before the dinner party. Clary laughed and took his offered arm as they walked out of the hallway and towards the door of the apartment.

"Hold on you guys, Clary you know your mom would kill me if I didn't get a picture of this momentous occasion. In fact, I'm pretty sure that she and Luke have an ongoing bet about how long it would take you two to finally get together." Izzy piped up, holding her camera, and waving for the couples to get together. Clary blushed and rolled her eyes, allowing Izzy to take a few photos before she had had enough.

"Okay, Izzy, I think you've taken more than enough photos to pacify Clary's mother," Magnus said smoothly, and Izzy relented.

"Fine, I guess you're right. I just wish I could go with you guys." Izzy said, pouting, and Clary nearly choked on her own spit, earning a funny look from Jace. Alec, who was also in on it, reacted much faster and gained Izzy's attention before she had the chance to notice Clary's outburst.

"Iz, you and Simon have planned this dinner months in advance. Trust me, you'll have a lot more fun on a date with your boyfriend than hanging out at a stuffy office Christmas party." Jace looked positively offended and opened his mouth to defend the party before Clary sharply elbowed him.

Izzy looked questioningly at her brother before agreeing. "You're right, plus I've wanted to go to this restaurant for months." She nodded, and both Alec and Clary looked relieved. "Now go to your stuffy Christmas party, and try not to have too much fun." She laughed, shooing them all out of the apartment. Downstairs, Clary, Jace, Alec, and Magnus all climbed into the limo that was waiting for them, courtesy of the company. With a wave goodbye to Izzy, they were off.

"Okay, what the Hell was that all about?" Jace asked after a minute of silence.

"Nothing," both Alec and Clary chorused, getting a suspicious glance from Jace and a very amused look from Magnus.

"Nothing, huh? Then why did you elbow me?" He asked, looking accusingly at Clary, who feigned innocence. "And why did Alec call this party stuffy? I mean they might not always be the most exciting, but I certainly wouldn't call them boring." Jace glared at Alec, but he looked more confused than angry.

"Don't worry about it, Jace." Alec said before falling into a conversation with his fiancé.

"Seriously Clary, you'll tell me, right?" Jace pleaded, giving his best puppy impression.

"Honestly Jace, you'll probably find out later tonight, tomorrow at the latest. I'm sworn to secrecy until then."

"Come on, Clary, you know how much I hate not knowing things." He tried again, pouting when Clary shook her head, and amused smile on her face.

"We're here." Alec said, and Clary looked out the window as the limo came to a stop in front of the venue the company had rented for the party. There were a few people lingering outside on the steps, all dressed in formal attire. Clary was silently relieved that she didn't appear to be overdressed. The door was opened, and a hand was offered to help her out. She waited for Jace to slide out of the car and took his arm as he led her inside, followed by Alec and Magnus.

Clary's jaw dropped as she saw the elegant ballroom, decorated with wreaths, trees, ribbons, and lights. There were tables decorated with candles, with a mini decorated tree as the centerpiece. There was a space cleared for dancing towards the front of the room, and there were a few couples gently swaying to the music. Jace laughed softly at Clary's expression, and led her to a table, pulling out her seat before taking one himself. Alec and Magnus joined them, and they were idly chatting when Clary's phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out, and grinned when she saw the caller ID.

"Hey Izzy, what's up?" She asked calmly, catching everyone's attention when she yanked her phone away from her ear at Izzy's scream of excitement, putting the phone on speaker so everyone could hear. " _Simon proposed!_ " Alec and Clary sported matching grins while Jace looked simply bewildered.

"No way, really?"

" _Don't act surprised Clary, Simon told me that you and Alec helped him plan everything. I honestly can't believe either of you managed to keep this a secret for so long, both of you are terrible liars_. " Alec chuckled.

"Congratulations, Izzy. You too, Simon." Magnus said, and everyone added their congratulations as well.

" _Thanks, you guys. Now, I'll leave you alone, so you can get back to your evening. I can't tell you how glad I am that I didn't go with you,_ " Izzy said, saying a quick goodbye before hanging up.

"I told you you'd find out later tonight." Clary said to Jace, who laughed.

"So, how did this all happen?" Magnus inquired, and Clary and Alec told them the story of how Simon had asked to meet them for lunch a couple of months ago. When they had gotten there, he was acting stranger than usual until Alec called him out on it and Simon pulled out a ring.

"We really didn't do that much. You know Izzy and I don't talk to our parents all that often, and I think I was only there so Simon could make sure I was okay with him marrying my sister." Alec said, and Clary nodded in agreement.

"Honestly, I think Simon only wanted us there for moral support. He already had everything planned when he asked us for help, and ran the ideas by us before he went through with it."

Jace was about to add something when he stiffened and snapped his mouth shut. Clary followed his gaze across the room where she spotted Sebastian along with a very flustered Raphael. Having noticed Jace's reaction, Magnus glanced in the same direction and nudged Alec, who waved at the two men. When Sebastian and Raphael joined them at their table, Jace greeted both of them tensely, and Clary, who was studying Sebastian, noticed a flash of sympathy cross over his face when he regarded Jace. After a few minutes of incredibly uncomfortable small talk, Clary had had enough and dragged Jace out onto the dance floor.

"Seriously, Jace. What is your problem with Sebastian? I'm done with pretending I don't notice you stiffen anytime he is anywhere near you. Initially I brushed it off as jealousy, but I know that can't be right because I'm here with you and he's with Raphael, which should honestly be pretty self-explanatory." She finished, glaring at her dance partner.

"It's noth—"

"Jonathan Christopher Herondale, if you say it's nothing I will leave you right here on the dance floor. I deserve an explanation." Jace glanced down sheepishly before meeting her gaze.

"Fine. It happened a few years ago. He was new to the company, and was quickly rising through the ranks, which was fine and all since I had done the same thing, until the day he came to work on our floor. When he found out Alec was gay, it was bad, Clary. He was so homophobic, he would use the worst slurs, and you know how Alec is. He pretended he didn't care, but I could tell how the words were affecting him. So, I confronted Sebastian about it, and told him if he didn't back off, I would see to it that he was thrown out of the company," Jace swallowed before continuing, "he mellowed out a bit, but still wouldn't want to be in the same room as Alec. A couple of weeks after that, I caught him and Alec talking with each other, and I saw red. I blew up at him, told him not to come near Alec again. He looked hurt and apologized, but after what he had done I didn't want to hear any of it," Clary had started rubbing soothing circles into Jace's back, silently urging him to continue. "Alec told me he had forgiven him, and I didn't know why. Nothing really clicked into place until you told me he was gay. I asked Alec about it, and he confessed that Sebastian had apologized to him, and that the reason he had blown up so much about it was because he was confused himself. I know I should be okay with him now, and I'm getting there. But I suppose there are some habits that are harder to break than others," He concluded. There was a moment or two where Clary was quiet, and Jace was about to speak up again when she kissed him.  
"I had no idea. Which is really just a good example as to why you should talk to me about these things, but that's in the past. Thank you for telling me now," she said. Jace smiled down at her. "Besides, I get it. If I had been in the same situation as you, I would have been absolutely livid. I understand why Alec has forgiven him, but I also understand why you haven't been able to quite yet." Jace tensed again and looked down at the floor. "It's okay, Jace." Clary reached up and gently pulled his face towards hers until their eyes met again. She hadn't realized they had stopped dancing until Jace started to sway to the slow beat once again.

"From now on, anything you want to know, ask me and I'll tell you." He said.

"No more silent treatment?" She asked, grinning as Jace blushed. He spun her around before tugging her back into his embrace.

"No more silent treatment," he said, pausing briefly before he continued, "I love you, Clary."

"I love you too, Jace."

The End

 **Okay so I know that the ending was totally sappy and there was a lot thrown at you guys in the last couple of paragraphs, but I tried dragging it out more and it just didn't work. So, I'm sorry if it was confusing at all. But that's a wrap! My first ever fanfiction is officially done! One final thank you to all of my reviewers, you guys are all amazing. I know that my updates were few and far between, and I thank you all for your patience. It was a really crazy year for me, and shout out to everyone who took the time to read and review and follow and favorite, it really meant so much to me to see that so many people like what I write, and it has inspired me to write more. I have another story idea in mind, so keep an eye out for that in the next couple of weeks. Again, THANK YOU!**


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